Sussing Out Lost

A Few Unanswered Questions

2010-05-26T18:28:00.006-04:00

I know I can't be the only one who feels like there were many things left unanswered by the end of our favorite show.

A friend of mine sent this video to me and I'm not sure if it upsets me more now that I know these are questions that we will never know the answer to......

I know some of it is just going to be open to interpretation, but seriously. Watch this video and see if this doesn't make you feel like Damon and Carlton owe us an explanation.

What do you think? (click here if video doesn't load)

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

The Beginning of The End.

2010-05-20T08:04:00.002-04:00

While it made me tear up, I really wasn't surprised to receive this message...from the finest cast of the finest show on television:

Strip away every mystery, every unanswered question, and every theory, and what remains is the characters. For six years we have journeyed with these fictional people--and hasn't it been a blast?

We, the viewers, have spent this these final few days preparing for The End. I find it awfully kind and classy for the cast of Lost to have taken a moment out of their day to do the same for their audience.

If you have written or will write a post about our favorite show on your personal blog, we Sussers want to read it! Link it up here and let's all enjoy the very final turn on the exhilarating ride we call Lost.

Namaste!

Across The Sea

2010-05-17T16:35:00.003-04:00

The mystery surrounding Jacob has endured since his name was first uttered in Season Two. At first we wondered who he was, and then what he was and now we begin to wonder why he is. He often served as a protector and adviser, but his manipulations were driven by an unknown purpose, with occasionally fatal consequences. He is truly an enigma.

We met his fellow inhabitant of the island, known to us as the "Man In Black" in the Season Five finale. At the time, we didn't know his significance. Only that he had been there a loooong time and harbored ill will towards Jacob. An ill will that led him, in the form of a now deceased John Locke, to convince Ben to kill Jacob, an act we were left to assume he was not capable (barred by island magic?) to do himself. Since then, MiB, as Flocke or the Smoke Monster, has doled out one beating after another on anyone who stood in the way of his goal of getting off the island.

Throughout, Jacob has been seen as the positive or "good" force on the island, while the MiB has been the "bad." One fair, one brunette. One always clothed in white, the other black. Light and dark. Good and evil. Or so it seemed. With this episode, we are forced to rethink our previous ideas. Turns out, much like the weather outside here today, there's a lot of gray involved.

So let's get sussing!

The episode opens to the wreckage of a boat and a lone survivor clambering for the surface. She finds her way to the beach and we see that she is pregnant. Stumbling through the forest, she comes across a stream where she cups water to her mouth. Seeing a reflection in the water, she is startled to find a woman looking down on her. The woman seems kindly and helpful, bringing the pregnant woman to her camp where she feeds her and prepares poultices for her wounds.

As she is eating, the pregnant woman, who has introduced herself as Claudia, grimaces. The baby is coming. The kindly woman helps her deliver her child, whom Claudia names Jacob, and then wraps him in a white cloth and sets him aside. But Claudia grimaces and we realize that there is another baby coming. Twins! The woman helps deliver this baby, too, and she sets him next to his brother wrapped in a dark cloth. "I only picked one name," Claudia says. (I thought for sure we would finally learn his name here. RATS.)

But then the kindly local woman turned midwife apologizes to Claudia and BASHES HER BRAINS IN! Quelle surprise, no?

******************************

Teen in Black is sitting on the beach when his fake mama sits down next to him. A conversation follows that produces the following gems:

"Jacob doesn't know how to lie, he's not like you. You're special."

"There is nowhere else. The island is all there is."

"Dead is something you will never have to worry about."

Clearly, there is a special relationship here. Some favoritism, perhaps?

***************************

The boys chase a boar through the jungle when suddenly it is speared by an unknown man. The boys hide, watching these "others" that they have never seen before. The race back to their mother. "They're not like us," she says. "We are here for a reason." "What reason?" Jacob asks. "It's not time yet." She says. But when pressed, she says "come with me" and leads them through the forest. As she drags them behind her, blindfolded, she tells them that they come from another part of the island, she explains about the people. But when Teen in Black asks if they can hurt people, she stops and pulls down their blindfolds so she can look in their eyes when she says, "I've made it so you can never hurt each other."

"This is the reason we're here," she says:

"Light. The warmest, brightest light you've ever seen or felt. And we must make sure that no one ever finds it. A little bit of this same light is inside every man. And they always want more. They will try to take it and if they try, they could put it out. And if the light goes out here, it goes out everywhere. So I've protected this place, but I can't protect it forever. It will have to be one of you that takes over."

*******************

Playing the game he created, Teen in Black sees his real mama. Jacob can't see her. She tells him she's dead and leads him to a field overlooking a village. "They came from across the sea," Claudia says, "there are many things across the sea. You came from across the sea, too. I am your mother." (in her best Darth Vader voice)

Teen in Black wakes Jacob and tries to get him to come with him to go live with "their" people. When he tells Jacob that she isn't their mother, Jacob goes whackadoodle and throws Teen in Black to the ground, beating the tar out of him. Fake Mama pulls him off, but Teen in Black is not to be deterred, "We don't belong here, she killed our mother! Come with me." But Jacob says no. Fake Mom says "Whatever you've been told, you will never be able to leave this island." "That's not true," Teen in Black responds, "one day I will prove it."

**************************

Jacob and Fake Mama sit on the beach. He asks if she killed their mother. She admits to it, but says that if she had let her live, she would have taken them back to her people and they are very bad. She couldn't let him become like them. She needed him to stay good. "Am I good, mother?" Jacob asks. "Yes, of course, you are. Will you stay with me, Jacob?" How could he say no? And the seed is planted for Jacob to stay on the island.

**************************

After 30 years with the other people, the Man in Black thinks he has found a way off the island. He and the People have discovered that metal behaves strangely in certain spots in places all over the island. When they find those spots, they dig. And they've found something.

Fake Mama comes to visit the Man in Black as he works. He tells her that although he searched the island over, he could never find the Light again. So he thought. And he deduced that the light was coming from underneath. So he dug.

He shows Fake Mama the wheel he is building that will harness the power of the light and he will finally be able to leave this island.

"Then I suppose this is goodbye," FM says and approaches her adopted son. She reaches to him and pulls him into a hug. She holds his head as she looks into his eyes and says, "I am so sorry" and then she rams his head against the stone wall. That woman ain't right.

(After that I scene, I texted Shannon, HE'S one of the skeletons! I marvel at how Damon and Carlton pulled that back to this. This is one of those times where I wonder if they had that in mind all along or if they worked that back in to the storyline.)

Back to the show.

FM leads Jacob to the Spring of Light. What's down there?" he asks. "Life, death, rebirth. It's the source, the heart of the island. You're going to protect it now. Just don't ever go down there. You'd be worse than dying if you do." As she pours out a cup of wine (the same bottle it seems from when he described the island as a cork to Richard in "The Substitute"), she murmurs an incantation and hands him the cup. After a pouty bit, she talks him into it and he drinks the wine. "Now, you and I are the same," she says. Same what? Immortal? All-knowing?

************************

At the People's camp, Jacob comes to with a nasty headache, only to find his well collapsed and all of the People killed. He finds his game box among the charred remains of the village. And now he's angry. You won't like Man in Black when he's angry.

**********************

Jacob leaves FM to go collect firewood in preparation for a coming storm at the behest of FM. She returns to her cave to find it in a shambles. Or more of a shambles, it is a cave after all. On the floor, she finds the game box and in it, two stones, one black, one white. Just as she picks up the black one to look at it, she gets stabbed through the stomach from behind. As she falls to the floor, bleeding and on the brink of death, she thanks MiB.

Jacob comes into the cave and finds MiB standing over FM. "She was crazy," MiB shouts as Jacob drags him along the forest, "You can't kill me, she made it that way." "Don't worry, brother, I'm not going to kill you" Jacob says as he throws MiB down in front of the Spring of Light. "You want to find the light, you want to leave this place, brother? Then go." Then Jacob throws him down into the water and he is sucked tout de suite down into the spring.

Within seconds, a rumbling erupts and an inky column of smoke emerges from the Spring, clacking and screaming as it pours out into the forest.

Crouching over the stream, splashing water on his face, Jacob looks over and sees the body of his brother washed up on a rock. He tenderly carries him to the cave and lays him out next to Fake Mama. Entwining their hands around a small sack containing the black and white rock. "Good bye, brother, good bye."

*********************

Questions and Thoughts:

- Why didn't Fake Mama age? She was clearly mortal, because she died. Was she "gifted" with the job of protection by a previous person?

- Was the ghost of Claudia real? Or was she the embodiment of the evil force on the island, that same force that later takes the form of Christian and Locke among others, doing what it had to do to drive a wedge between the boys?

- Clearly someone finished the wheel. Was it Smoky/Man in Black?

- Do you think the flashback at the end to Jack and Kate finding the skeletons was unnecessary?

The Candidate

2010-05-05T10:14:00.016-04:00

This one's going to be painful, y'all.

I can't even deal with what happened on the Island yet... so let's begin with the events of AlternaLost:

Locke is in recovery from his emergency spinal surgery. Jack is there to tell Locke he's a "candidate" for a new surgery, saying, "I can fix you."

But Locke turns down the surgery, something Jack can't comprehend. And because he can't leave well enough alone, Jack decides to find out the details of how Locke ended up in the wheelchair. He tracks down Dr. Nadler, who did some oral surgery on Locke and "Anthony Cooper" a few years ago, following their accident.

Did anyone else get creepy vibes coming from Bernard?

Jack tracks down Anthony Cooper in a nursing home, where he also runs into Helen. She spills that Cooper is Locke's father, and we see he's also in a wheelchair and a vegetative state.

Jack catches up with Locke as he's being discharged from the hospital. (Oh, before that, Jack was at Locke's bedside, and as he's sleeping, Locke mumbles, "I wish you had believed me.") Locke gives Jack the details of his accident (a plane crash!)... adding that he was the pilot and his dad, his very first passenger. Something went wrong and now it's Locke's fault that his dad is the way he is. Jack says to Locke, "Whatever happened, happened" and that he needs to let his father go... just as Locke told him to about his own father. Again, Jack tries to get Locke to agree to the surgery, but Locke wheels away. Jack yells after him, "I wish you'd believe me!"... and although Locke pauses for a moment, he keeps on going.

OK, now onto the hard part... the events that happened on the Island:

Somebody hold me...

Jack wakes up in one of the outriggers, finding Sayid on the beach of Hydra Island, who tells Jack that the MIB camp was attacked (no sign of Ben or Miles)

I'm not the only one who gets nervous each time we see an outrigger, am I? I'm still waiting to see who it was Juliet (may she rest in peace) shot during the chase last season...

Anyway, Sayid tells Jack that Flocke saved him, and Jack wants to know why he was brought to Hydra. Flocke shows up and answers, "Because your friends got themselves captured" and he needs Jack's help to rescue them. Jack agrees to help, but insists he won't leave the Island. Locke tells Jack the reason he should be trusted is because while Flocke could kill Jack and his friends, he's chosen not to.

Sawyer, Kate, Jin, Sun, Lapidus, Claire, and Hurley are taken by Widmore's team to the cages. Widmore asks why the sonar fence isn't "live" yet (does this mean it wasn't when Flocke confronted Widmore on the beach???) and that it had better be soon, because "he's coming".

"He" being Flocke, of course... and come he does, taking out Widmore's men. Jack arrives to get the rest of the gang out of the cages.

*******

Here was my favorite Hurley moment of the episode:

"And we're dead."

*******

After finding Sayid in the jungle, the group meets up with Flocke at the plane. Flocke has found explosives on the plane... and since it's not safe, they'll be taking the sub off the island. Sawyer hangs back and asks Jack for help in keeping Flocke off the sub once everyone else is onboard.

As they come to the dock, Sawyer, Frank, Jin, Sun and Hurley run to the sub first. They make it safely into the sub, so Kate, Hurley, Claire and Sayid make a run for it, with Jack and Flocke bringing up the rear. But before the second group can board, Jack pushes Flocke into the water... they're fired upon by some more of Widmore's men.

I can't believe Kate got shot!

I can't believe they left Claire behind!

Flocke is pissed.

Or so it seems. But then when Claire is running after the sub, Flocke grabs her and tells her, "Trust me, you don't want to be on that sub."

On board, Jack is tending to Kate. Looking into his pack for a shirt to stop her bleeding, he finds instead a bomb. Which was placed there by Flocke, using the same explosives he had found on the plane.

Everyone starts to panic... except for Jack. He tries to convince everyone that they'll be fine... that if Flocke could have killed them, he'd have done so by now. Sawyer's not buying it... but Jack says, "James, you have to trust me."

Has Jack referred to Sawyer as "James" before? Does anyone know?

Sorry, Doc... but Sawyer doesn't trust you, and he pulls the wires. The bomb doesn't go off, but the timer starts ticking down faster. Sayid tells Jack where to find Desmond, and that "it's going to be you". He then runs off... WITH THE BOMB!

Although I'm still reeling at the loss, I'm glad he sacrificed himself to save the others... I think we were all hoping there was still some good left in Sayid.

From the explosion, Sun gets trapped. Hurley and Kate make their escape while Jack, Sawyer and Jin try to free Sun... until Sawyer gets knocked out. Jin convinces Jack to save himself and Sawyer while he stays behind with Sun...

OK, we all know what happened next...

Geez, just posting that pic has me welling up! Cuse and Lindelof, you two are cruel, cruel bastards.

Jack makes it to the beach with Sawyer (who's breathing, yay!) and here come Kate and Hurley. While watching what happened to Jin and Sun did bring me to tears, it was this that reduced me to a blubbering mess...

I know I wasn't the only one to be done in by Hurley's sob.

Jack breaking down didn't help my weeping situation, either.

The episode ends with Flocke knowing the sub has sunk, but not everyone on board died. How does he know this? He then starts to walk off, and Claire asks where he's going. His reply?

"To finish what I started."

A few more thoughts:

If anything, this episode proved once and for all that Flocke is evil.

Are we to assume Lapidus is dead? I know we didn't actually see him make it off the sub... but we didn't actually see him die, either.

Cara's thoughts: "I'm thinking more and more that AlternaLost is the one that is real." What do you think, Sussers? Could AlternaLost be the "real" timeline?

Let's discuss!

Recaps will resume tomorrow!

2010-05-04T19:59:00.005-04:00

*tap* *tap *tap*

Is this thing on? Anyone?

Bueller?

I could go on and on about how we here at SOL have been busy these last few weeks... but, honestly, I think the reason we've slacked on the recaps is that we're all in denial.

Denial that the most awesome show ever to grace the television airwaves will cease to be by the month's end.

Denial that when this month is over, there will be no more exlaimations of "Dude!" courtesy of Hurley.

No more Shirtless Desmond...

or Shirtless Sawyer...

No more Kate...

Oh, wait a minute... never mind.

I'll be back tomorrow with the recap of tonight's episode, "The Candidate", as well as catching up on what's gone down on the Island and off these last few weeks!

The Package

2010-04-06T14:34:00.004-04:00

I've always been intrigued by the Sun/Jin love story. Coming from such disparate backgrounds, they fell in love, but happiness was tough to find living under the iron will of Sun's father. He forced Jin into impossible situations and drove a wedge between husband and wife. In some ways, it seems that the island brought them together in a way that might not have been possible had they made it to LA. We know that her father would have found them and they would never have been given the time to really get to know each other. To fall back in love.

I know I'm late getting this up, so this is just a quick recap to grease the wheels for tonight's episode. Let's get sussing!

How surprised were you that Sun and Jin weren't married in Sideways world? Even when Sun handed the hotel clerk a registration slip for Paik, I didn't pick up on it. But then when Jin points to his bare ring finger and says "No Married!", I was like ein minuten, bitte?! Concluding that they weren't even an item, I couldn't figure out why Sun would have made the trip with him. UNTIL...

Sun invited Jin into the hotel room and started unbuttoning her blouse! At first, I thought, she's seducing him but it was quickly apparent that this wasn't the first time for these two. I love Jin's face as Sun opens button after button, asking, "should I close this one?"

When Keamy showed up at their hotel room, you knew nothing good could come of it. We'd already seen him get the beat down from Sayid, but beyond that, we just know that he is not a good guy. So I was definitely not surprised to learn that his job was to kill Jin. His sensitivity caught me off guard, though. "The heart wants what the heart wants" he said. "But maybe some people just aren't meant to be together." After all the troubles Sun and Jin have been through, on and off the island, those words are all the more meaningful.

The show down in the OK kitchen. You just knew that Jin was going to be a bad ass. Muscles like that, man knows how to use 'em. But Sun taking a bullet! And then as Jin is carrying her away, she says "I'm pregnant!" DUDE.

Back on the island...

It was the Hydra Island "others" who were watching the camp via night vision goggles when the show opened. So clearly they had been plotting an opportunity to attack the camp and grab Jin. Did they wait until FLocke took off or did FLocke know what was coming and Jin being grabbed was all part of some plan? Since FLocke/smoke monster could easily have taken out any one who threatened them, the former seems likely.

Flocke is clearly in a tizzy that Widmore took Jin. So much so, that he attempts to bring Sun in to the fold to entice him back, but she makes a run for it. Banging up her head in her escape, resulting in aphasia, or the inability to speak. In her case, only English. But Jack, back to form, turns up with a pad and paper and an answer to her problem.

So Flock sends Sayid to Hydra and prepares to make the journey himself. Sawyer asks why he doesn't just turn into smoke and fly over there. Something I had been wondering myself. I love it when tv shows actually address the weird questions. The answer, he can't. So is it that in his natural(?) state, he can't travel over water?

Flocke finds a series of pylons on the beach of Hydra Island emitting a high electrical field. And the answer to the strange security system around the Dharma camp comes clear. It was to protect the inhabitants from HIM. When Widmore greets him from the other side of the fence, denying his request to return Jin, Flocke says: "A wise man once said that war was coming to this island. I think it just got here." Now THAT was a look that could kill.

Trouble is coming, friends. And we know who is going to be at the heart of it.

The countdown to tonight's Desmond-centric episode is on. Are you all as excited as I am to see what Sideways Lost has in store for him? And to see why and how he is "the Package?"

"Recon"

2010-03-21T18:50:00.015-04:00

No brilliant opening for this post... let's just get to sussing about this Sawyer-centric episode!

Beginning with the events on the island...

Sawyer has been taking care of the injured Jin at Crazy Claire's makeshift tent:

Jin's all, "Dude, we gots to get outta here! Before those whackadoodles come back!"... but Sawyer's like, "Chillax, Kato... it's all good." Sawyer lets Jin know that he's with Locke, "or whoever he is", only because he can them off the island (or so he says).

Flocke, Crazy Claire, Kate, Sayid, and the rest of the Others from the Temple finally appear. Everyone wants to know what happened to those who stayed at the Temple. Flocke's answer: "the black smoke killed them".

Before they head out, Kate sees Crazy Claire's creepy squirrel-baby. And she's as freaked out by the thing as I was {shudder}.

On the way, Flocke pulls Sawyer aside and drops the bomb that he is the smoke monster. And that he wants Sawyer to paddle over to Hydra Island for a little reconnaissance. Flocke believes there are some others from the Ajira flight who "mean to do us all harm".

So Sawyer goes off to Hydra, and Crazy Claire tries to kill Kate... but ~~luckily~~, Flocke saves her just in time.

Did anyone else scream at the TV, "Sayid! DO something!", during this scene? Or was I the only one?

Sawyer makes it to Hydra and finds the Ajira plane. But first, he comes across Kate's dress in one of the cages:

Again, was I the only one thinking, "Really? After THREE YEARS of being outside, the dress is still in that good of shape?"

Unfortunately, the plane isn't the only thing Sawyer finds. He also finds a pile of dead bodies... and... Zoe, who says she's the only one left from the flight:

Sawyer figures out Zoe isn't who she says she is... but she's not alone, and before he knows it, he's taken to a sub and meets Charles Widmore.

Sawyer agrees to deliver Flocke to Widmore, in exchange for him and his friends getting safely off the island.

But then! Sawyer makes it back to Flocke... and proceeds to tell him the plan of turning Flocke over to Widmore!

At nightfall, Sawyer finds Kate on the beach. He also tells Kate about Widmore and his people and while everyone's "fighting it out", they'll be taking the sub away from the island.

Now for what happened in Alterna-Lost...

Sawyer's in bed with an un-named woman:

And then he does the whole, "Oops! I didn't mean to open this case full of money in front of you!" My first thought: "Ah, Sawyer. He's up to his old tricks."

But the woman pulls a gun on Sawyer, saying she can spot a conman since she's married to one:

Sawyer then begins to tell her that this is a set-up and the room has been bugged. It wasn't until Sawyer uttered the "magic word" that I believed his story! The cops bust in the room, arrest the woman and we meet Detective James Ford's partner:

Miles! I didn't see that coming, either! But I loved it.

Two more things I loved about this scene: 1), it was Sawyer's turn to be called by a nickname ("Dimples") and 2), the magic word ("La Fleur").

Detective James Ford is using his cop skills for personal use... even in Alterna-Lost, he's trying to find "Anthony Cooper":

I don't know how this is going to play out. Because we know who Anthony Cooper is. And in Alterna-Lost, he seems like a good guy!

Meanwhile, Miles has set his partner up on a blind date with a good friend of his, who also happens to work with his dad "at the museum". I thought (and hoped!) it would be Juliet, but the blind date turned out to be:

Charlotte!

Of course, Charlotte and Detective James Ford hit it off and end up in bed together:

But the good times don't last very long. Looking for a tee shirt, Charlotte happens to come across the "Sawyer" binder hidden in the dresser drawer. Detective James Ford goes all postal about what Charlotte saw and kicks her out.

And as if that wasn't bad enough...

Miles finds out his partner has lied about being in Australia and isn't too pleased about it:

Miles knows he's being lied to... but again, Detective James Ford won't tell the truth. Miles storms off, saying he's no longer Detective James Ford's partner.

And of course, as with every episode this season, we have the central character staring at their reflection:

Later, Detective James Ford makes up with Miles by finally telling him the truth. "Anthony Cooper", aka "Sawyer", is the man responsible for his parent's deaths. He's been searching for "Sawyer" since leaving the police academy and finally found a lead in Australia. Detective James Ford reveals his plans to kill "Sawyer" when he finds the man.

A car then slams into Detective James Ford's car... and he and Miles are on the pursuit. The fugitive turns out to be none other than:

Kate!

I was a little surprised at this. We know that our Losties keep interacting with one another in Sideways World... but thanks to Erica, I thought the next person to run into Kate would be Jack. Remember when Jack and his mom were searching for Christian's will... and when found, it mentioned "Claire Littleton"? Jack and his mom need to find this mystery person... and what's the easiest way to find someone? Run a credit check on them. Who has Claire's credit card? That's right... Kate. So I figured Jack and Kate's paths would cross next...

But now, the big question is: What's Detective James Ford going to do? And maybe even a bigger question is, why didn't he intervene in the airport when he noticed Kate in handcuffs???

Time to end this here recap... and for our female readers, I'll leave you with a few more gratuitous images of Shirtless Sawyer...

You're welcome.

Now... get to sussing!

It's DOCTOR Linus

2010-03-15T20:54:00.002-04:00

After nearly every episode, I say to myself, "WOW, that was my favorite episode." And after each, I proclaim my love for whichever character was featured most prominently. I am a fickle and changing girl, because that character changes from week to week. But this past episode brought my love affair with Lost, and indeed my love affair with a particular character, to a whole new level. That character, of course, is Ben Linus.

He is the man we love to hate and hate to love. He has been so deliciously bad, but has revealed soft parts of himself. He is flawed and in some ways broken. As are all of the people inhabiting the Lost world, but there are so many levels to his character. There is a reason Michael Emerson has been nominated for 10 awards for his work on Lost, including last year's Emmy WIN. He. Is. Awesome.

So we all knew that any episode featuring Ben would be nuanced and complicated, because that IS Ben, and "Dr. Linus" did not let us down.

So let's get sussing!

- How much did we love that sideways Ben was teaching his students about Elba? The tiny island where French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte was exiled. "It was on this island that everything changed," he says, "that everything finally became clear. But exile was not the worst of his punishment, it was the loss of power." Sound like the man in black to anyone? Or perhaps Ben himself?

- The loving sideways Ben and his father, there is genuine affection between the two. Makes me wonder about Ben's mother. Did she die during childbirth as she did in our familiar Lost world? A tragedy that led to the fractured relationship between father and son, and eventually to patricide. But very importantly, this is where the senior Linus reveals that they had been on the island, but left. Dharma and the island exist in this sideways world! Or at least they did. Do they still?

- Ben and Alex have a special relationship in sideways Lost, too. Contrary to his behavior on the island, sideways Ben abandons his personal ambitions for the sake of Alex. Did anyone have any doubt that he would do the right thing? I didn't. Okay, maybe for a second, but only a second.

- We're finally given a glimpse into Richard's existence. When he leads Jack and Hurley to the marooned ship, Black Rock, he says that after all the years he's been on the island, that was the first time he had been back to it. (Was that ship another era's Oceanic 815? And Richard a passenger?) He confides that he was "touched" by Jacob and given the "gift" of sustained life. However these days he's ready to be done with it, but the island won't let him die whether by his own hand or another's. As Jack so ably proved. Each of the candidates was touched by Jacob. Were they also given this gift?

- Miles. He's such a cool cat. I guffawed when he threw Ben's words right back at him as he tells everyone that Ben was the one that did the dastardly deed: "He was standing over Jacob's dead body with a bloody dagger, so yeah, I'm pretty sure." My favorite quote of the episode was from Miles, as it often is, "Why would I need your money? There are a couple of gimbonis* over there named Paolo and Nicki with $8 million in diamonds on top of them." Not in the teensiest, eensiest bit surprised to see Miles caressing a couple of sparklies after that line.

- The most emotional moment of the show: the showdown between Ben and Ilana. He's a man with nothing left to lose. Marooned on a tiny island. No friends, no power. (Napoleon?) He confesses his role in his daughter's death, because of Jacob. He gave up everything for Jacob. He begs Ilana to just let him leave, that he'll go to the only one that will have him, Locke. When she said "I'll have you," I teared up. Two people, both with their entire lives invested in Jacob, at rock bottom, finding common ground.

- Still a little weepy from the moment in the jungle, we're given the reunion on the beach. Shannon texted me "Michael Giacchino is a genius" and it is in scenes like this one, where his music plays so heavily on our emotions that you become aware of just how true those words are. He IS a genius.

- And of course, we couldn't possibly not mention the submarine that surfaces during this touching moment carrying a scheming Widmore. Theories on his agenda?

Can't wait until tomorrow night!

*I have no idea what this word is or how it is spelled. I have attempted to look it up with no success. However, I just couldn't omit it from the quote because its a fun word. It's also probably some sort of racial slur and offensive to jewel thieves everywhere. Don't shoot the messenger folks.

Sundown

2010-03-04T21:56:00.009-05:00

Folks, I don't even know where to begin...
'cause this, as a reply to Ben's "There's still time to escape...":

"Not for me..."

Well, it scared the heebie-jeebies outta me.

Long have I loved our former Iraqi Republican Guard, our Ninja in the black wife beater. But it appears Mr. Kung Fu Fighting (as Cara texted to me during this episode--"Everybody was kung fu fighting...") is now kicking for the dark side.

Queue the Imperial March from Star Wars.

Rather than recap what I found to be a very confusing and mysterious episode, let's jump straight to the sussing, shall we?

*Dogen (God rest his soul) referred to Fake Locke as "evil incarnate."

Call me bonkers, but my definition of "evil incarnate" is Satan/The Devil/The Man Downstairs, whatever you wanna call him. Are we finally to believe/accept that the Man in Black/Fake Locke is the bad guy? That he's inherently evil? If so, what does this make Jacob?

Well, he's cute...but is he an angel? Truly good? The White Knight?

*Ahhh, Martin Keamy...

Don't hate me, but Kevin Durand (who portrays Keamy) has the sexiest voice ever. EVER!

Just as he did in the Season 4 finale, Sayid opens up his can of whup-ass on one Martin Keamy, leaving him deader than dirt. It seems that regardless of timeline, regardless of locale, Sayid is gonna have the last laugh, as far as Keamy's concerned.

But let's discuss...what does Keamy have to do with Jin in this timeline? Does he still work for Widmore? Why's he storing a Korean in a freezer? And didn't those eggs look delicious?

*Was I the only one who, upon seeing this scene, had a Buffalo Bill flashback?

"It puts the lotion in the basket!"

It's apparent that Claire has "done gone and lost her mind," as Shannon so succinctly put it in last week's recap of "Lighthouse." If the mangy hair and eerie crooning of "Catch A Falling Star" weren't enough to cement her position in the loony bin, the two things Claire yelled to Kate from the depths of the pit are more than enough to convince me that she's riding the crazy train: "I'm not the one who needs rescuing!" and "He's coming, Kate. He's coming, and you can't stop him."

*Dogen is now deader than a doornail, and Fake Locke is able to enter the temple...

But whyyyyyyyyyy? Or, better put...WHYYYYYYYYYYY? Was Dogen the only thing keeping the Man in Black out of the temple?

My 5+ years of being an uber fan of Lost have left me with somewhat of a swelled head. Like most hardcore Losties, I have a pretty good idea of where this journey is leading us. Yet now I'm hearing a hissing sound...and it's the sound of the air being let out of my head. Because, like Claire, I've done lost my mind over this episode.

I came thisclose to writing this post as:

"..."

It's literally how I felt the minute "Sundown" ended. Don't get me wrong, I loved this episode...as I usually love the Sayid-centric hours. But I'm stymied, y'all. Really and truly perplexed.

Hold me...

and by "hold me," I clearly mean I want HIM to hold me:

Commence with the discussing...shed light on this mystery-laden episode, please!

Lighthouse

2010-03-01T11:09:00.008-05:00

I'm looking forward to reading the comments on this episode... because I thought "Lighthouse" was a great one. Maybe even the best Jack-centric episode (so far) of all six seasons.

As with the last post on "The Substitute", I'm just going to highlight my main thoughts/questions. I'm sure I've missed some things, but that's what all you Sussers are for, right?

Let's begin with the Alterna-Lost timeline:

What is the deal with Jack not remembering when he had his appendix removed?!

(I also want to know about the cut on Jack's neck from "LA X: Part 1... remember when he went to the bathroom on the plane?)

I don't know what to make of this. After the first episode, I read somewhere that if you follow the original timeline of 815's crash, maybe the time Jack noticed the cut was about the time he was getting stitched up by Kate. However, if this is true... then the same can't be said about his appendix. In this Alterna-Lost timeline, it's been a few days since the plane landed. Juliet removed Jack's appendix much later in the original timeline.

Then again, we are dealing with time travel. So, who knows...

Jack has a SON?!

This was the part where I had to pause and rewind the DVR... 'cause my first reaction was, "Wait... did that boy just say 'DAD'?!"

So now the obvious question: WHO IS DAVID'S MOM?

While watching the show last week, Lula had some interesting guesses... which included Libby and Shannon. Both of us agreed David's mom is probably not Sarah (Jack's ex-wife according to the original timeline).

The next day Lula and I chatted on the phone... and her new theory as to who could be the mystery mom is one I most agree with:

JULIET.

And Doc Jensen thinks so, too! From his "Lighthouse" recap (BTW, Doc's recaps should be required reading for every "LOST" fan):

BURNING QUESTION: Who's David's Mom? Who's the female participant in the creation of this inexplicably conceived Sideways child? Who's this phantom woman that Sideways Jack was once with and now isn't? Wouldn't if be totally ironic and fitting if she was the Sideways iteration of Lost's resident fertility doc/Jack dumpette, better known to us as Juliet? And you wanna know why she wasn't home last night? That's right, kids: Going dutch on coffee with new boyfriend Sawyer. (Your goosebumps? That's right, I did that.)

Anyone disagree to the theory that Juliet is David's mom?

Now for on the Island:

I didn't notice this until my 2nd viewing of this episode... but Jacob poured something into the Temple's spring... what was it and why?

Still wondering about the identities of "Adam & Eve"

Of course, Hurley (in the way only Hurley can) theorizes maybe the skeletons are one of the original 815 survivors. My sister thinks "Adam" and "Eve" are going to turn out to be Kate and Sawyer... the two people who are "meant to be alone" end up dying together. Hmmmm...

Claire has done lost her mind.

I can't be the only one who shuddered at the sight of this:

GAH.

Out of all the scenes with Claire and Jin... here's what I noticed most:

Her "friend". Since the MIB has only been inhabiting Locke's body (or whatever you want to call it) for a few days, and Claire has been living in the jungle for the past 3 years,

Who does Claire "see" when she looks at her "friend"?

Could it be Christian? Or...?

So, what say you, Sussers? What are your thoughts and theories about this episode?

The Substitute

2010-02-23T07:54:00.009-05:00

The beauty of contributing to a Lost blog is being able to write about a show in which we're completely impassioned. The beast of contributing to a Lost blog is being so flummoxed in regard to a particular episode that, despite our best efforts and intentions, a general recap sometimes falls short.

Such is the case with last week's The Substitute.

Having watched Lost from the very beginning, and having seen each episode twice (at least), I say with certainty...The Substitute ranks in my top five favorite episodes of the past five years. It's generally a given that any Locke-centric hour will be exemplary. Season 1's brilliant Walkabout, in which we gather that prior to flight 815, John Locke was confined to a wheelchair. (That show closing image of his chair, illuminated by the fire on the beach? Genius.) Or how 'bout Season 3's The Man from Tallahassee, when we learned the reason for Locke's wheelchair captivity:

Like most, I gasped loudly upon seeing Anthony Cooper shove his son out of the window.

But as delicious as Locke-based episodes are, they're also rather difficult to digest. While watching The Substitute, three points plagued me:

1. The "reveal" of the numbers.

More specifically, that "Shephard" (Jack? Christian? Claire?) was written next to "23."

Um...23...seriously?

Psalm 23? "The Lord is my shepherd."

It's honestly the very first thought I had upon seeing that name & number together.

(I'm a Bible college graduate--work with me here!)

2. "Jacob's" ladder.

Both the Biblical reference (Genesis 28)

and the song by Huey Lewis,

which I sang all night long after seeing this scene.

(Also...I was relieved Sawyer didn't plummet to his death. Whew!)

In the Bible, Jacob's ladder represents the ladder between Heaven and earth,

It has also been interpreted by scholars to be

the manner in which angels descended Heaven for earth.

Angels. Heaven. Earth. Good. Evil. White. Black.

See how my mind works?

3. In Locke's alterna-timeline, he is actually with his lady love.

Helen (yay, it's Helen!) was wearing a t-shirt which read "Peace & Karma."

Peace and karma, people.

I immediately texted Cara with, "Her shirt reads 'karma!'"

Cara's reply? "Awesome."

Awesome, indeed.

With these three bullet points--the number 23, the ladder, and karma--I attempted to suss out their underlying meanings. The spiritual aspect? Mythological? Relevance to our story?

This is Lost, y'all. Nothing is coincidence, and everything is steeped in myth, literature, psychology, religion, and pathos.

This morning the great Doc Jensen, of Entertainment Weekly, and the world's greatest Lost susser (in my estimation, at least) posted part two of his thoughts on The Substitute. He mentioned Huey Lewis, and I started singing again..."Step by step, rung by rung..." He also mentioned Severus Snape, my most favorite character from the Harry Potter series. And I had a "VOILA!" moment.

I highly recommend you taking a few minutes--ok, 20--to read Jensen's post. It's available here.

Honestly, I found myself nodding along, muttering, "whoa!' and "dude--he's a genius," while reading.

Also, let's discuss a few particulars of The Substitute:

Why is James "Sawyer" Ford

so smokin' hot in plain ol', Dharma-issued boxers & a wife beater?

Buzzed on Dharma whiskey, no less.

Have mercy!

Why is Ilana scrounging around Jacob's ashes?

The following day (February 17) was Ash Wednesday, in our 2010 timeline.

I'm certain that was a rare coincidence, but still.

What is the significance of the ashes?

Creepy Child Alert, Creepy Child Alert!

(The Shining has ruined me forever. Creepy kids. Yeesh.)

Back to our show...

who was the creepy, blood-covered child? I've read many theories, including Jacob (reborn?), Aaron (aged), and Sawyer (???). Creepy child warns Flocke (Fake Locke, that is), "You know the rules, you can't kill him..."

Say whaaaaat? Can't kill whom? Jacob? Richard? Sawyer? Vincent?

Where is that dog? And Rose and Bernard, for that matter? '

Let's discuss. What jumped out at you while watching this episode? Did you love it as much as me? Are you satisfied with Flocke's "explanation" of the numbers? (I'm not.) Why was Kate's name not visible on Jacob's cave wall? Do you want to see Sawyer in his skivvies again? (Please. Of course you do.)

Homework before tonight's episode: seriously, go read Doc Jensen's brilliance.

That is all.

Wait...

that is not all.

I forgot to mention my most favorite moment of this episode:

Mr. Ben Linus, teacher of European history.

Best. Ever.

What Kate Does

2010-02-15T00:30:00.007-05:00

At the heart of Lost has always been a focus on cause and effect, actions and their consequences. Each of the Losties made a series of choices that led them to the island. To a man, they are deeply flawed individuals. Most are self-inflicted, like Jack, Kate and Sawyer. Some seem to be on the bad side of fate, like Locke and his loser of a daddy or Rose and her cancer. But they are all people with scars.

In this episode, we spend time both on the island and off, following two very different paths. But as so often happens, all roads lead to the same place and we see the same people irresistibly drawn together in the alternate timeline. Cause and effect.

The Island

The show opens with Spectacles shuffling down the hallway, paranoid and harried. He rushes into a room and says with great import: He's ALIVE.

Who else could he be talking about, but Sayid, who is back from the dead after a not-so-refreshing dip in the temple spring. Now Sayid may be back, but he is more confused by what's going on than the rest of us. Hurley explains in his usually succinct way, we been captured by the Others...again.

But the Others aren't through with Sayid. Not by a long shot. They ask him to come with them, they have a few questions for him. Jack, who just can't let anything happen without sticking that nose in, says no. A scuffle ensues and a shot rings out. Everyone freezes and we see Sawyer. "I don't care what you do with any of these guys, but I'm leaving," he says. Dogen (formerly known as Mr. Miyagi) tells him he has to stay (implying that our Losties must stay together?), to which Sawyer says, "No, I don't" and sets off into the jungle.

After he leaves, Kate offers to track him down and bring him back. As she and Jin are getting their stuff together, Jack and Kate have a moment as she is turning to go where he grabs her arm and looks down into her eyes and tells her to be careful. I thought he was going to kiss her. Wanted him to. But no. Will these two star-crossed lovers get back together? I know there is a strong anti-Jack and Kate sentiment, but I always liked the two of them together.

Remember when I said the Others weren't done with Sayid, well, here's where that gets ugly. It seems that "just a few questions" actually means "shoot electricity through your body" and "stick a red hot poker on your chest."

When Jack sees Sayid's condition, he storms in to see Dogen, where he demands to know what they did to Sayid. Dogen tells him, through Spectacles, that they were testing him and that the tests proved that he was "infected." Dogen tells Jack that he must get Sayid to take a pill he has just finished making. Doing so will give Jack a chance to redeem himself for all of the people who were hurt or killed trying to help him. Action/consequence at play.

When Jack walks back into the spring room, Miles and Hurley are quizzing Sayid about the afterlife: was there a white light, angels singing, dead relatives, are you a zombie? (Oh, how I love Miles and Hurley!) Jack asks them to leave, which they do, but not without protest, and then tells Sayid that he is supposed to get him to take the pill. Sayid says, "I don't know anything but who I trust, and if you want me to take that pill, I will."

Jack walks back into Dogen's room. He asks who he is. Dogen says he was "brought" to the island just like everyone else. Dogen asks about the pill and Jack says he didn't give it to him because he didn't know what was in it. You just have to trust me, Dogen says. "Trust?" Jack says, "Let's see where trust gets us" and tosses the pill into his mouth. Dogen dives for him, punching him in the stomach and doing a little Heimlich action, finally getting Jack to marf up the pill. "What was in that?" Jack rasps. The answer: Poison.

Meanwhile, Kate and Jin have been having quite the rumble in the jungle. After escaping from Aldo and Justin, the Others sent to keep an eye on them, Jin turns back for the temple and Kate continues on after Sawyer. She finds him in his old cabin in the other Other compound as he is tearing up floorboards in search of a box. A box which contains a small, black, velvet bag.

Kate and Sawyer sit on a dock, looking out over the water. Kate tries to apologize, to take the blame for Juliet's death, but Sawyer stops her. "It was my fault," he says, "We sat in this very spot and I talked her into staying because I didn't want to be alone. But I guess some of us are just meant to be alone." He pulls out an engagement ring and says, "I was going to ask her to marry me." And with that he stands up and throws it out into the water. As he walks away, he tells Kate that she can probably make it back to the temple by nightfall. Were you crying here. I was. Each of the three times I watched this episode.

Back in the temple, Dogen and Jack sit at a table sharing a cup of tea. Jack asks why they want to kill Sayid. "Because he has been claimed. There is a darkness growing within him and once it reaches his heart, everything that was once your friend will be gone." "How can you be sure?" Jack asks. "Because it happened to your sister." Dunh, dunh, dunh.

In the jungle, Jin is leaning over a stream to refill his canteen when he is attacked by Aldo and Justin. As he attempts to escape, his foot gets caught in a bear (um, hello, BEAR?!) trap. Just as things look terribly dire for our dear Jin, Aldo is thrown back by three shots to the chest. A moment later more shots ring out and Justin goes down, too. Wondering who his savior could be, Jin looks in the direction of the gunfire and sees crazy hair CLAIRE.

Alterna-Lost

At the airport, Kate brushes past Hurley and jumps into a cab with a customer…Claire! She orders the cabbie to go and he floors it, almost hitting poor Arzt, whose luggage is strewn all over the place just like, well... Poor Arzt.

From the back seat, Kate scans the crowd looking for Marshall Edward. She sees Jack standing on the sidewalk talking on the phone and makes a face. Like so many other situations in this alternate timeline, she seems to recognize him.

Once away from the airport, the cabbie takes off and a frazzled Kate dumps a sobbing Claire on the side of the road. Kate careens into a dingy garage. After a brief showdown at gunpoint, a mechanic, who clearly is no stranger to "bracelets," helps Kate extricate herself from them. For the bargain price of $200. He laughs ironically when she asks for a spot to change her clothes.

In the bathroom, she goes through Claire’s bag, no doubt looking for something to change into. No luck, it's a diaper bag. Underneath a picture of a very pregnant Claire, the bag is full of baby stuff.

Kate gets back on the road and finds Claire sitting at a bus stop. She offers her a ride to the home of the couple that are adopting her baby. As they approach the house, Claire asks Kate to come in with her. When they knock, a teary-eyed woman comes to the door. Clair identifies herself and Mrs. Baskim (the adoptive mommy-not-to-be) tells her that her husband (Who might this fellow be, pray tell? Methinks he might be someone we know!) just left her and that she wouldn’t be any good for the baby now. Kate says “this girl came all the way from Australia and you couldn’t call?” Claire starts screaming and says “ITS COMING!!”

At the hospital, Claire lies in a bed while Kate charges out in to the corridor looking for a doctor. Of the several that seem to be standing around, she steers toward one. As he turns around, we see it is ETHAN! Aka Dr. Goodspeed. Is it just me or does he make you feel just a teensy bit uneasy about the quality of health care he is going to provide?

Ethan comes into the room and says that all signs point to her having a baby tout de suite. But Claire says she isn’t ready and just as Ethan orders a something-something medicine drip, the baby’s heart monitor flatlines. Ethan calls for an ultrasound saying that it is possible the baby just moved out of position, but Claire is freaking out, screaming “is Aaron okay??!!” (Aaron??) Ethan uses the ultrasound wand and shows that the baby is fine and says that Aaron (Again, Aaron??) is going to be a handful.

Claire is laying in the hospital bed looking at the sonogram picture (dated 10/22/04?) when two cops walk in asking for Joan Hart. Claire said she was just the cab driver and she had already left. The cops leave and Kate comes out of a storage room. Claire asks why they’re after her and Kate says "would you believe me if I said I was innocent?" “Yeah” Claire says.

When Kate compliments the name Aaron, Claire says "I don’t know why I said that, it was like I knew it." Kate tells her she should keep him and they wish each other luck.

They're all going to need it. Whew.

Okay, Sussers, what thought you of this ep?

LA X {Part 2}

2010-02-09T12:35:00.003-05:00

Since I've procrastinated in getting the recap for hour 2 done (and a new episode airs tonight), I'm just going to hit the high points.

Well, the high points according to me. I've only been able to re-watch the 2nd hour in spurts, so I ~~may have~~ probably missed a thing or two.

But here we go! Starting with the events of the "flash sideways":

Did anyone else notice Artz giving a weird look to Sayid, as the two of them waited for their luggage?

I can't decide if this look is "This guy looks familiar, somehow" ...kind of how Jack was to Desmond on the plane. OR is Artz suspicious of Sayid being a terrorist, which is what Shannon accused Sayid of being on the original Flight 815. Hmmmm...

Kate manages to escape from Marshall Edward (he has a name!), taking his gun in the process. Another interaction with Sawyer on an elevator... then she's outside trying to take Frogurt's cab but he's not having it. "There's a line!"

With the Marshall hot on her heels, Kate jumps in the nearest cab and tells the driver to go. The cabbie tries telling Kate he already has a passenger, but she points the gun at him and we see the passenger is... CLAIRE!!!

We don't see if Claire is preggers or not... if she is, do we assume she's in LA for the same reason she was on the original Flight 815? To give her baby up for adoption?

Jack is called to Oceanic's courtesy desk... where he's told there's been a problem with his "cargo". Apparently the coffin containing Jack's dad never made it on the plane. Sounds to me like Christian was never meant to be buried. Again, hmmm...

Jin is also having issues with his baggage. Apparently he didn't claim a big wad o' cash. (What's the deal with the watch, though? I don't remember it...) I did catch Sun being called "Miss Paik"... does this mean Sun and Jin are NOT married? And I do not like this Jin. At. All. What a jerk.

The final scene in the airport involves another encounter between Jack and Locke. Both are filling out paperwork in an Oceanic office. Jack, because the airline lost his father's coffin (and his father). Locke because the airline lost his knives. (Again... I don't remember the significance of the knives...???). I admit I was tearing up right along with Jack, when Locke was explaining to him the airline just lost his "father's body".

Jack tells Locke he's a spinal surgeon and asks what happened... only to be told by Locke that surgery can't fix him. Jack gives Locke his card and tells Locke, "Nothing is irreversible."

Are we to believe this bit of advice, too? That somehow things in the past can be changed?

As for what happened on the island:

Miles stays behind with Sawyer to help him bury Juliet, while Jin, Jack, Kate and Hurley take Sayid to the temple.

Hurley is wearing a RED SHIRT!!!! NNNNOOOOOOOOOO!!!

After burying Juliet, Sawyer forces Miles to "listen" to her. What Juliet wanted to tell Sawyer before she died? "It worked."

What we can assume from this is that somehow Juliet (or her conscious?) was able to see the "flash sideways" and that Flight 815 doesn't crash on the island. Right?

Jin, Hurley, Jack and Kate make it to the temple wall with Sayid. While making their way inside, Kate wanders off and then doesn't respond when Jack calls for her... why? I didn't catch the whispers the first time around but heard them when I re-watched. The gang is attacked by the "Others" and we get our first look at the actual Temple (of Doom?)...

Meanwhile, back at the beach... Ben and MIB/Fake Locke are still inside the statue. MIB/Fake Locke tells Ben that the real Locke was confused when Ben killed him, and his last thoughts were "I don't understand." MIB also says Locke was the only one who realized how special the Island is, the only one who didn't want to go back to his pathetic pre-Island life. And how this is ironic... because MIB only wants to go "home".

Just exactly where is "home"???

We're back at the Temple... and so are Cindy and the children from Flight 815 are at the temple?! WTF?!

The leader of the Others, Mr. Miyagi, gives the order to shoot Jack et al. But Hurley comes to the rescue, saying Jacob sent them and gave him the guitar case. I don't know what I was expecting to find in the case, but it certainly wasn't an ankh.

Seeing the way these Others are dressed makes me wonder if this was the reason Tom and the "Others" who attacked the Losties wore fake beards and shabby clothes. To somehow blend in with these Temple "Others"???

They take Sayid to the spring inside the Temple (where Miyagi and Hippie are stunned to see the water isn't clear). A few of the Others hold an unconscious Sayid in the muddied water, where he apparently drowns.

Sawyer and Miles have been captured by the Others and brought to the Temple... Hippie takes Hurley to have a talk with Mr. Miyagi. It's here where Hurley drops the bomb that Jacob is dead... and all heck breaks loose. Miyagi and Hippie are yelling for everyone to "get to your posts! ring the bell! prepare the ash!" They also set off a flare...

Which is seen by Richard. And he looks pretty freaked out. I wish I could find a screencap of this look, because it's awesome.

Also awesome are the reactions when MIB/Fake Locke comes walking out from the statue.

Lapidus: "I'm seeing it. But I'm still not believing it."

MIB confronts Richard, saying it's nice to see him out of those chains. Could this mean Richard was a slave on the Black Rock? Richard obviously knows who MIB is. MIB knocks Richard out, hoists him onto his shoulder and shouts that he's "very disappointed with all of you," then walks right past the real John Locke's body.

The final scene of the final season premiere happens back at the Temple. Hippie asks to speak to Jack in private, but Jack argues and starts to fight with a few Others. The fighting abruptly stops when everyone sees Sayid sit up! A confused Sayid asks, "What happened?" (And let me tell you, he wasn't the only one confused.)

So what did you think of the 2nd hour? Where is "home" to the MIB? What did you think the guitar case was holding? Do you think Jacob is now inhabiting Sayid's body? Any other thoughts? Suss it out!

Because You Simply Can't Get Too Much Sawyer...

2010-02-09T09:13:00.001-05:00

LA X

2010-02-04T13:22:00.018-05:00

Admit it...how many times did you utter, "WTF?" or an actual expletive during Tuesday's season premiere? My fellow Lost Sussers received many incredulous texts from me, some of which are not fitting to reprint here. Ahem.

But really...WTF? It was 2 hours of almost non-stop "Are you kidding me?" moments. Also, many "Wait, WHAT?" gasps. Let's try to discuss* the first hour for a bit, shall we?

A bit of explanation--the show is clearly employing an "alternate reality" timeline, so we'll review it first before delving into the "Did Juliet reset everything?" timeline.

Confused? Me, too. Let's just go with it...we'll greet our cast of characters, one at at time...

Hey, look! Oceanic 815's in the air again. There's Cindy the "We're here to watch, Jack" flight attendant, offering little bottles to Dr. Unsatisfied Imbiber. Now...I've viewed this scene enough times to know that Cindy sneaks two bottles to Jack, not one. Is this Oceanic Flight 815? 'Cause I'm feeling kinda gipped...for Jack...I mean, he needs two bottles!

Hey, look! It's Rose! (The heart & soul of Lost, no doubt.) But why is Rose comforting Jack, instead of the other way around? "You can let go now," she gently submits.

OK...this is clearly alterna-world. This can't be Oceanic 815.

Jack takes a potty break and discovers a cut on his neck. I'm not even going to pretend to understand what this means, because I'm already bug-eyed (much like Ben) over these few opening minutes. Just go back to your seat, Dr. Shephard. Oh, look! It's Desmond.

DESMOND?!?

Jack senses familiarity with the Scotsman. The Scotsman is oblivious to this familiarity. And did anyone notice the wedding band on Desmond's left hand? (Unable to find a screencap of it, but trust me--it's there.) Yeah. I'm with Jack. Perplexed, looking out the plane's window...

Are. You. Kidding. Me?

Why is Dharmaville/New Otherton underwater? And let's discuss the Dharma symbol on this shark. I didn't catch it upon first viewing, but it lept off my screen the second time. Clearly he's better down waaaaay where it's wetter.

Growing more nervous by the second and fearing the show had jumped the shark (literally & figuratively) in the first 5 minutes, I realized...um, y'all? We are no longer in Kansas anymore.

I echo our dearly departed Drive Shafter, Charlie: "Guys...where are we?" 'Cause it's kinda looking like Atlantis. I don't want it to be Atlantis. Did Jughead explode, thereby calmly sinking the island and sustaining minor damage to it, under the sea? Did it really go "Bloop!" as we saw at the end of Season 4, when Ben turned the wheel? My head is spinning. Thank God for a commercial break.

In a span of about 30 seconds, Kate (oh hey, Mr. Marshall!) meets Jack...

And Sawyer...
Typical. This Bermuda Triangle of a "love" triangle is really getting on my nerves. But I digress...

My second shout of the night goes to ARZT! No, I didn't get "some Arzt on me," (still my favorite line from season 1) but seeing him made me happy. Thank you, writers of Lost. It's the little things which keep this audience satisfied.

And why is Hurley so cheerful? "I'm the luckiest man in the world!" Again, we're clearly not in Kansas anymore. Or in Oz, for that matter. (Yes, Sawyer is reading. As per usual. Brilliant.)

Meanwhile Sun's enjoying the love affair that is Rose & Bernard (told y'all they're the heart and soul of the show) and Jin's enjoying her boobs. Ah, but as usual, these boobs are just for him. Button it up, Sun!

Hey, look--it's Frogurt! He's all safe and snuggled between Boone and Lock. But please love that he's wearing a red shirt. It's almost guaranteed that a flaming spear will find its way to Frogurt's heart, somehow, somewhere. Rest in Peace, Frogurt. Or continue napping in peace...whatever...

At first I was all, "No way would Boone ever be sitting in coach--Shannon wouldn't allow it." Then I realized..."Whoa...where's Shannon?" Boone explains her absence, but still...Boone without Shannon is like step-incest without...ok, ewwww...I can't even go there. Boone tells Locke (hey, John!), "If this plane goes down, I'm sticking with you!" Of course you are, Boone. Some things never change. (Except now Boone's a deliciously hot, evil brother on another network, but that's a vampire of a different color.)

Moving on...

The doctor on board is summonsed to help Cindy with a passenger locked in the restroom. Of course it's Charlie. And of course Jack is always fixing things.

Charlie, dude...there's no hope in dope. In your throat.

Let's not forget who broke down the bathroom door. Only my favorite ninja in the world, Sayid! Now that's what I'm talking 'bout! Finally! Someone who seems their usual, "normal" self. Or as normal as this lot can be.

After Jack has commenced with the fixing, he returns to his seat to find that Desmond is gone. When Jack questions Rose about Desmond's disappearance, she lies to him..."We were asleep." Uh, no Rose...you weren't. I know this because I rewound this scene and watched it three times. You and Bernard were not asleep, so why the fib? I still love you, Rose...you're my girl.

Captain Norris alerts the passengers of their impending arrival to Los Angeles, offering ground details such as the 72 degree temperature, 6 miles of visibility, and winds out of the southwest at 5 miles per hour.

Let's go over that again...72 degrees...6 miles visibility...winds at 5 MPH.

Notice the lack of the numbers? This might be reaaaaaaaally reaching, but we've spent the past five years having those numbers (4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42) ingrained into our Lost consciousness, so it seems rather odd to have no reference to them here. OK, yes...2, 5, and 6 are all part of the ground details, and part of the numbers. Yet methinks that since we're obviously in a completely variant reality, the numbers must not be "in play" anymore. Hmmmm...

We see Ocean Flight ___ land in Los Angeles, and we catch Charlie shooting an eyeful of daggers at Jack. We also learn that, as in the "other" reality, John Locke is once again confined to his wheelchair.

The look of resignation on his face simply slayed me. I've never felt sorry for John, because he's never given me any reason to. (Well, there was that one time his Dad stole his kidney...and pushed him out of a building window...) "Don't tell me what I can't do!" has been his mantra, and he's proven over the past 5 years that he can do a whole darn lot. But I did feel sorry for him in this scene.

As the plane emptied, I wondered...where are...

Claire?

Walt and Michael? (And Vincent? I refuse to accept a show that doesn't have the dog!)

Ana Lucia?

Eko?

Libby?

Nikki and Paulo?

JUST KIDDING, y'all!

We'll leave the new flash-sideways behind, as the producers are calling it. What shall we call it? Flash-sideways? Alternate reality? Y'all Better Not Be Jumping The Shark With This New Storytelling Device? This Is So Confusing? Exactly.

I'm holding my judgement on this new tactic of narrative because it is a little intriguing to see both sides of the "Did they or did they not reset time?" speculation. I'll enjoy this "what if" scenario to a point. And then I would really like the writers to pick a path and end our Lost journey on the straight and narrow. Even though Lost is never straight and narrow. Even though the writers aren't listening to me. (Why aren't you listening to me, writers? Kidding.)

This is Kate's eye. Not Jack's, as we've come to know and love over the years. Kate's up in a tree. But not for long. She finds Miles, they sort out their hearing disorder (why do they sound as if they're underwater?), and it's back to the hatch we go!

This is my boyfriend. I mean, James "Sawyer" Ford. Also, my boyfriend.

"She's dead, you son-of-a-bitch, 'cause you were wrong!"

Dude, I've been telling Jack he's been wrong for the past two seasons, so you're preaching to the choir. Kick his ass, James! Oh wait...you did kick his ass, just a few moments ago. (Remember the Great Jungle Smackdown of the Season 5 Finale? That was good times.)

Not far from the imploded hatch, Sayid bleeds, Hurley brandishes a rifle, and Jacob saunters out with a very concerned expression on his face. As if he'd have another expression.

Concurrently, we return to New Locke and Ben, underneath the shadow of the statue, following the murder of Jacob. And this is Ben as we've never seen him before. 'Member when Ben was all badass and calling the shots and being the island's de facto leader? Yeah, he doesn't either.

Then we have Sun & Lapidus talking about some shiz...
And Richard and Ilana talking about some shiz...

But all that was kinda boring, so let's move on.

Well...lookie there, Ben. 'Member how you killed Locke, aka Jeremy Bentham? Still not feeling badass at all, are we?

Back at the ~~ranch~~ hatch, Kate hears the faint voice of Juliet. JULIET! She's ALIVE!!!! Because he's a manly man and because he's awesome, Sawyer springs into action. This involves ordering Jin around and a mad scramble to remove the debris surrounding the imploded area of the hatch.

Simultaneously, Jacob is dropping bombshells and instructions all over Hurley, who is, as usual, completely nonplussed to be talking with a dead dude. Jacob tells Hurley that he needs Charlie's guitar case to save Sayid. Ok, there's more to it than that, but my mind is still focused on JULIET!

Sawyer trips over Desmond's exercise bike and makes it to Juliet's battered and bloody side. "It didn't work," she moans. She reveals to Sawyer that she hit the bomb. "We're still on the island."

Above ground Kate is calling, "Sawyer!" and I still hate her.

Jack tells Hurley that he's unable to fix Sayid (wow--Mr. Fixer's not so fixy now, is he?), so Hurley grows a pair. And I applauded.

Across ~~town~~ the beach, Bram drags Ben to visit Fake Locke. Locke tells Bram, essentially, "Peace out!" Bram's not happy with this dismissal so he starts shooting. The Smoke Monster whirs. Destroys. Bram is staked through the heart. Ew.

Let's stop for a moment to discuss...not the ash (yes, we all saw Bram's protective barrier of ash--and we also saw him flung from said protection, and then staked.)...but the fact that a character named Bram was killed via a stake through the heart. Awesome. I love this show.

Upon Ben's utter breakdown, Fake Locke calmly retorts, "I'm sorry you had to see me like that." Dun-Dun-Duuuuuuunnnnnnnnnnnnn!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This opens up a new can of worms. So Fake Locke is the Smoke Monster? This means the Man in Black has been the Smoke Monster all along? How did Ben summon the Monster if he was unaware of Jacob's nemesis? Was he (Man in Black) being held captive by the ash around that dilapidated cabin? Was he the one eerily crying out, "Help me!" to the real John Locke back in season three's, "The Man Behind the Curtain?" (And not Jacob, as Ben falsely referred to him.) Click here for reference.

My head's hurting.

Let's return to the tragedy of my life. I mean, of this episode.

"Love is a smoke raised with the fumes of sighs;

Being purged, a fire sparkling in lovers' eyes..." --from Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet

I really didn't watch to watch Juliet die. Again. Why the pain? Why the torture? Oh, for plot purposes, naturally.

Just before she passes, Juliet asks James if he'd like to "get coffee," offering to make it a dutch treat. Instantly I thought of Charlotte as she was dying..."I'm not allowed to have chocolate before dinner." Was Juliet seeing her alternate reality? One that included a java date with her James? Oh puh-lease can this be the case? I'd feel much better knowing that these two are destined to be together...eventually. (I hate Kate.)

Before the moment of supreme agony, Juliet also whispers to Sawyer that she must tell him "something really important."

And then she dies and I don't wanna discuss it anymore because I'm still not over it.

Neither is he...

This brings us to the end of the first hour. Hey, I never said brevity was my strongest trait.

Let's chat about the first 60 minutes of the final season of Lost. Suss it out in the comments, and we'll post the 2nd chapter of LA X very soon.

Aren't we so glad Lost is back? Amen!

*None of us here at Sussing Out Lost claim to be island geniuses. That's why we list our favorite Lost smarty pants over there on our sidebar. If you want to graduate from the Head of the Lost Class, be sure to read Entertainment Weekly's Jeff "Doc" Jensen. His analyses of each episode continue to astound and confound us. Seriously.

Lost Bipolar.

2010-02-02T11:34:00.003-05:00

Alice commented on my personal blog, "I've gone Lost bipolar today...one minute I'm happy, then I'm sad."

I couldn't have said it better myself. Thanks, Alice.

It is the day we've all been waiting for...the beginning of the end...tonight we'll begin season 6 of our beloved show.

Last May I had the duty of recapping the final half hour of the season 5 finale. (The final season finale of Lost. Gulp.)

As I rewatched the episode last week (yes, I'm aware it's now February and not May. Don't judge!) I couldn't get past this:

Heartbreaking.

And since we'll have a brand new episode to discuss tomorrow, I'm gonna leave it at that. No, I'm not dropping the ball or taking the easy way out. (Shannon--please love me!) I just can't go there again. My head is still spinning, but more importantly, my heart is breaking. Y'all know how I feel about James and Juliet.

Tonight we'll receive some answers...of course, there will be more questions. But I'm dying to know:

*Did Juliet reset time? Because that's the mainest question, of course.

*"They're coming." Who's coming, Jacob? WHO?

*Is Frank Lapidus a "candidate?" And what's a "candidate," anyway?

*Will Kate still annoy the heck out of me? (Well, duh.)

*WHAT IS THE SMOKE MONSTER?

*Are Sun and Jin ever going to be reunited?

*Is The Man in Black (aka Dead John Locke) now in control of the island?

*Will we learn the identity of Season 1's "Adam & Eve" skeletons?

*Will Rose and Bernard have their own spin-off show, called, "Aw, Hell No!"

See? I just cannot process it all.

Thank God we have a new episode tonight. We've waited so long.

Commence with the squeeing...NOW!

FOUR DAYS!

2010-01-29T13:12:00.002-05:00

Just four... FOUR!!!... days until the final season premiere of LOST's final season!

In case you need to get caught up:

815's crash, in real time.

2010-01-21T13:38:00.001-05:00

Someone very talented strung this together...and it's pretty dang amazing. ENJOY!!!

(Less than 2 weeks, y'all! To say we're excited 'round here is putting it mildly!)

2010-01-08T14:16:00.000-05:00

You know you want to...

LOST at Comic-Con!

2009-07-27T15:57:00.000-04:00

Thanks to reader/commenter, T., who sent us this link regarding the Lost preview/panel at Comic-Con, this past weekend in San Diego. I would have cut my right arm off to have been there for it. No lie.

Also, Ain't It Cool has all 4 videos from the Comic-Con panel, as well as two teaser/spoiler videos. Click here if you're a super fan/nerd. Like me. Ahem.

Enjoy!

Who Wants To Own a Piece of The Island?

2009-07-22T12:40:00.000-04:00

ABC has announced when the series ends, they will be auctioning off "Lost" props, costumes and set pieces to the highest bidders.

A few of the reported items up for grabs: Hurley's winning lottery ticket, Locke's hunting knife, Kate's toy plane and Charlie's guitar.

(Hmmmm... I wonder if they'll be auctioning off a shirtless Desmond...)

What item would you like to see up for bidding? What iconic prop would you like to win?

*UPDATE: Lots of pics of the auction items can be found here!

*UPDATE #2: Looks like I can get my can of Dharma beer! HA!

The Incident, Part 3

2009-06-20T13:07:00.000-04:00

My apologies for not having this up sooner... but, such is life.

If you need to recap the, uh... recap: Part 1 & Part 2

2007

In this installment of the finale recap, there is only one encounter during 2007, so I'll start with that. Locke, Richard and the rest of the Others finally reach the four-toed statue (or rather, what's left of it)

Richard reveals to Locke that Jacob lives beneath the statue... Locke sure does look surprised by this news. Hmmmm...

Flashbacks

First up is Jack's dura sac surgery... the one he told Kate about in the pilot episode. Christian is observing the operation, but when Jack can't calm down, he threatens to take over.

After the surgery, Jack takes his anger out on a poor, unsuspecting candy machine. Christian comes to tell Jack the surgery was a success, but Jack confronts his father regarding Christian's putting him in a "time-out in front of my team" and accuses Christian of not believing in him. It's then that Jack has a very brief encounter with Jacob... but they touch fingers, nonetheless.

The other flashback pertains to Juliet... her parents are telling her and her sister of their decision to divorce.

Kat points out that while this is supposed to take place sometime in the 1970s, nothing... the hair, the clothes, the furniture... looks very 70s-ish...

Juliet's mother tells her, "Just because two people love each other, doesn't always mean they're supposed to be together". And we also should note that this is the only flashback that does not involve Jacob.

1977

The events from 1977 left off with Sawyer, Juliet and Kate standing in the road, blocking the VW van.

When Jack busts out of the van, Sawyer tells him they need to talk... Sawyer needs "5 minutes to say what I gotta say". Jack agrees to listen, and follows Sawyer into the jungle.

Sawyer tells Jack the story of how his parents died... and that this just happened last year. Sawyer could have taken the sub to the mainland and stopped his dad... but explains to Jack the reason he didn't is because "what's done is done". Jack counters that it doesn't have to be that way. Sawyer wants to know what did Jack "screw up so bad the first time around" that he is now willing to blow up a nuclear bomb in order to have a second chance. Jack confesses he wants Kate back but it's too late for him to "just go get her". Jack tells Sawyer his 5 minutes are up and goes to leave... but then, the rumble in the jungle ensues!

Y'all, this smack down has been five years in the making...

Juliet breaks up the fight (if you can call it that... "fight" usually refers to 2 or more persons, but Jack was clearly getting his butt whooped). She tells Sawyer that she has changed her mind, and that Jack is right in setting off the bomb. Sawyer demands to know why Juliet has changed her mind...

Juliet's answer is that maybe they were never supposed to be together and tearfully tells Sawyer, "If I never meet you, then I never have to lose you."

I'm sure Lula will wax poetic on the brilliant acting of Josh Holloway and Elizabeth Mitchell in the next portion of the finale recap... and she would do these two more justice than I ever could... but let me just say it was at this point of the finale where my tears started flowing...

Whilst Juliet is telling Sawyer about her change of mind, Kate and Jack have their own heart-to-heart.

In regards to setting off the bomb, Jack tells Kate, "nothing in my life has ever felt so right" and that he needs to know Kate believes that.

Jack: "Are you with me?"

Kate: "Yes."

Jack: "Then let's go."

Let's go, indeed...

Funniest Ever.

2009-06-10T14:18:00.000-04:00

Please watch. Please Love...

Are you kidding me?

Gandalf?

Joker

Captain Jack

Harry Potter

and

EDWARD????

All on the island. Together. As it should be. Amen.

Brilliant. Hilarious. Genius.

The Incident, Part 2

2009-05-24T21:45:00.000-04:00

Picking up where Kat left off...

The second half hour of the show delved us deeper into the Jacob backstory, followed our favorite threesome as they escaped from the sub and their collision course with Jack and his entourage as they head towards Jughead. Plus, we get a little more insight into Locke and Ben, while the mystery surrounding Ilana and her crew's mission on the island deepens. So much sussing, let's get going!

Jacob
In this segment, we see Jacob visiting more of the island’s visitors. First, it is Ilana. As she lays in a Russian hospital bed, covered from nose to toes in bandages, Jacob comes in and asks for her help. Although we don't know her or her motivation, it is evident that she won't refuse his request.

The next time we see him, Jacob is sitting on a city bench reading Flannery O’Connor’s “Everything That Rises Must Converge.” Yet another example of Lost’s brilliance. This subtly placed book is about human weakness and morality, certainly a topic that has been addressed quite frequently in the Lost world. We hear a shattering of glass and a body falls to the ground. Jacob casually gets up and walks over to a bloody and still John Locke. He looks at him for a moment before touching his shoulder. Locke draws a breath and looks at him with bewildered eyes as Jacob says, “Don’t worry, everything is going to be alright,” and then he walks off.

Finally, Jacob visits Sun and Jin at their wedding. As the newlyweds receive well-wishers, Jacob steps up to them. He touches their arms as he tells them that their love is a special thing and should never be taken for granted.

Jacob visits each of them as they are at some turning point, we saw it with Sawyer, Sayid and Kate and now, when Locke and Ilana lie at death's door, Jacob comes along to bring them hope and a renewed vigor for life. With Sun and Jin, he is reinforcing their commitment to each other, the same one that will have them leaving Korea together with the hopes of starting a new life together in Los Angeles. For each, Jacob has gently nudged them in the direction of the island.

The Good Guys?
Ilana and her team trudge through the jungle carrying “the box” while Lapidus and Bram talk. You just gotta love Lapidus and his straightforwardness. When Bram tells him they’re the good guys, Lapidus says, “In my experience, the people who go out of their way to tell you they’re the good guys. They’re the bad guys.” Ain't it the truth, Lappy, ain't it the truth.

As those words are still hanging in the air, they come up on the burnt shell of Jacob’s cabin. Bram points out that an ash line circling the cabin has been broken. (Methinks the ash line might be some sort of protective circle? But whether it protects those within from those outside or the reverse is up for debate.) Ilana goes in and looks around. In the ruined interior, she passes over a mostly unharmed picture of a dog (Anyone have any ideas about that one?) and then spies the piece of tapestry stuck into the wall with a knife. She brings it out and shows it to Bram. The fabric has a picture of Sobek, the Eqyptian god of creation, the very same god that is featured in the giant statue.

After telling them that someone else has been using the cabin (Esau perhaps?? Posing as various dead people? Christian...Claire...) Ilana orders the men to torch the cabin and they set off back into the jungle.

The Leader
En route to the statue, Locke leads the group through the camp once inhabited by the 816 survivors, where he suggests they take a break. Ben and Locke sit down for a tete a tete and Ben asks why Locke wants him to kill Jacob. Locke says that after all he has been through: the cancer, losing his daughter and being exiled; the bigger question is why he wouldn’t want to kill Jacob.

In the last few episodes, we have certainly seen a different side of Ben, less sure of himself. I miss the old sneaky, conniving bad-ass Ben of yore.

The Escapees
Sawyer, Juliet and Kate row towards the island as the submarine sinks into the water behind them. As they pull the boat up onto the shore, a giant rainbow hovering over their shoulders, Vincent comes running out of the jungle. Sawyer ruffles his fur and we hear a very distinctive voice.

“Oh, hell no....Bernard! They found us.”

Out walks Rose and a shaggy Bernard, looking very Charleton Heston Moses with the beard and the staff. Bernard and Rose take them back to their little slice of heaven retirement cottage, and while the threesome try to talk them into helping them on their quest to stop Jack, the couple go about their normal activities. "You traveled back 30 years in time and you’re still trying to shoot each other?” Rose says.

As he turns them down, Bernard doles out some of his wisdom: “So we die, we just care about being together, that’s all that matters.” To which Sawyer looks at Kate. Why, oh, why did he look at Kate? Juliet, of course, sees this. Breaks. My. Heart. Bernard points them on their way and they head off for the Dharma camp. As they turn to leave, Bernard offers Juliet a cup of tea, which she declines as she touches her stomach. (Does he recognize her heartbreak?) I swear I thought she was pregnant then! Still kind of do.

I was so happy to see Miss Rose and Bernard again. Their absence has been one of those question marks hanging over the show for me. Did they travel back in time with the rest of the gang? If so, or not, what time were they in? Were they the skeletons in the cave?

The Heroes
Hurley careens through the forest in the intrepid blue VW bus while Jack and Jin work to save the injured Sayid. As they bump along, Hurley and Miles attack them with a barrage of questions. Suddenly, Hurley brings the van to a screeching halt.

Sawyer, Juliet and Kate stand blocking their path, guns drawn.

Yep, it's on.

Stay tuned for the next installment of The Incident, to be posted soon by Shannon.

The Incident, Part I

2009-05-21T14:49:00.000-04:00

I have been watching LOST from the beginning. I could never get my husband to watch. But, I do watch it with my mom. Who is constantly lost. Thank goodness for the dvr so that we can pause it. And I can attempt to explain what is going on. Remind her (and myself) that we have seen a certain character before. Or tell her about some wild theory that I read on Lostpedia.

I hear so many people "complain" that the show is too confusing. That they shouldn't have to watch a show that requires them to do research about what they have seen. That you shouldn't have to be a rocket scientist to follow a tv show.

Well. For me. That is what I LOVE about this show. It's smart. It makes me think. It gets all my conspiracy juices flowing. And really, my benchmark for a good book is one that sends me to the computer to look stuff up. Why shouldn't a tv show challenge us as well?

Now, when Lula had the thought for this blog...I loved that I was included. But a little brain surgery took over my life. And it's rare that I come up with something interesting and original. I do have my moments though. And I am hoping that you'll bear with me while I re-cap the first 30 minutes of "The Incident" and intersperse it with a wild hair...and maybe a few bunny trails.

So when the episode opens...and we see the clay jars, the hemp sandals, the spinning wheel, and the loom. Did you just know it was Jacob we were seeing? I just knew it had to be him. And as I was watching. Especially as he works the thread up the loom. And then later in the show when he talks about creating the tapestry. It so reminded me of the Greek myth about the fates. That one is in charge of spinning the thread of life. Another in charge of measuring out the length. And the final in charge of cutting the thread. Is it relevant? Who knows.

Next we see Jacob getting a fish from his trap and cooking it on hot stones. And as he sits down to enjoy his meal, we see a clipper ship in the ocean - and what can only be the Black rock.(Hey...anyone notice that Juliet hits the bomb at the end with a black rock? Relevant? Who knows. Bunny trail number one.) Soon Jacob is joined by another man. And the symbolism screams from the tv screen. Jabob in his white shirt (but...he does have black pants on) and this guy...who I'll call Esau...in his black shirt. Jacob with his blond hair. Esau with his black hair. Light and dark. Plain as day. But. Really. Even by the end of the episode...I am not convinced of who are "the good guys."

Esau wants to know how the ship found the island...and then he realizes that Jacob has brought them here. And Esau is disgusted. "They come. They fight. They destroy. They corrupt." And that comment is the one that makes me doubt that Esau is bad. He wants peace and tranquility. Not the nonsense that people bring with them in their luggage and their psyche. And then Jacob says "it only ends once...anything before that is progress."

I have been pondering that quote for a while. I really didn't know what he meant. And I am still not sure. Does he mean that everything is progress towards the end? That "the end" is the goal?

Finally Esau tells Jacob that he really wants to kill him. And that he cannot wait to find the loophole. And then we get our second glance at the full statue. Which I think is the Egyptian goddess Tawaret - the goddess of fertility.

Our next scene is between Kate and her friend Tom - with Tom holding that toy airplane (I don't recall the significance of it. Do ya'll? I remember that it was in a safety deposit box in one episode. I think.). They are contemplating a life of crime. All I am sure due to the influence of the New Kids on the Block. "Katy" is caught by the store owner who says that he is going to call the cops and her parents. But who should appear to rescue Kate but Jacob, who offers to pay for the lunch box. While making Katy promise to never steal again...while at the same time, playfully touching her nose.

In another flashback, we are shown Sawyer at his parents' funeral. After the guests and coffins have departed for the cemetary, Sawyer is still there. Composing his letter to Mr. Sawyer. Jacob appears on the scene and offers him a pen. And touches his hand as he hands him the pen. Then Sawyer's uncle appears and asks James to move on. Not to finish the letter. Because "what's done is done." So...why do you think Jacob visits Kate and Sawyer in their youth...and everyone else when they are adults?

And the last flashback of the first half hour is Sayid's. Sayid and Nadia want to plan an anniversary...but Nadia really just wants to find her sunglasses. They are at a cross walk, and Jacob stops Sayid to ask for directions. Nadia finds her sunglassesand is struck by a car - and the driver speeds away. (Did you gasp outloud when she was hit??!) So. Here is my question for you. When Jacob stops Sayid...is he killing Nadia or saving Sayid?

Then we shift to the sub. Where Kate informs Sawyer that they have to get out of there. I just can't imagine having the cajones to think one could escape from a sub. Anyway...Kate explains about the bomb. Sawyer declines. Juliet proves she has cajones and knocks the sedative dude out so that she can swipe the key to unlock all of their handcuffs. They all proceed to the captainand ask politely if he'll surface so that they can go back to the island and save the world. Who else sees the foreshadowing of Juliet wearing a red shirt?

Did I mention that this is a choppy episode? I am trying to group like things together...

We are shown a scene of Radzinsky rushing to the Swan. And yelling at Pierre Chang for stopping the drill. Chang tries to explain that the heat was too much. That there is an insurrection going on. And that they are too close to the pocket of energy. So Radzinsky counters with some analogy about Edison and being in the dark...and then says "I came to this island to change the world..." So...how does electro magnetism change the world?

The is also the arc about the Others making their pilgrimage to meet Jacob. Richard Alpert wants to talk to Locke about how he is alive. Especially since Ben strangled Locke. Because "dead is dead." Right? But Locke counters that it's not so unusual in comparison of Richard never aging. Richard says that he is that way because of Jacob. And then he makes the leap that John Locke must be alive because of Jacob, too. And Locke says it must be so...and that he needs to thank Jacob. Locke also tells Richard that they must "deal" with the survivors from the Ajira flight.

The look that Richard gives Locke is priceless. And in this episode...Richard seems so much like a normal person (that doesn't age). He doesn't seem to have any clue as to what is going on on the island.

Then Locke approaches Ben. He knows that Ben told Richard about killing Locke. And Locke wants to know why Ben didn't tell Richard that Locke wants Jacob dead. Ben says that he will do whatever Locke says. Because his dead daughter told him to do whatever John says. Locke just beams at this good news. And then tells Ben that actually he is the one that must kill Jacob.

Okay...so far this half hour we have three character flash backs. How Kate, Sawyer, and Juliet get off the sub. The introduction of Jacob and Esau. The trek of the others to meet Jacob. Radzinsky at the Swan. And then we have a brief scene of Illana and the other "what lies in the shadow..." people. They need a cool nick name. We see them paddling their big silver crate and a knocked out Lapidus. And why did they bring Lapidus? Because "he might be a candidate." And as Frank says...ummm...a candidate for what?

And there is yet one more story being told in this first 30 minutes. Minus commercials. And that is of Jack and Sayid trying to prep the bomb - based on the specific instructions from Faraday's notebook. While Sayid is wearing his super gloves, Richard decides to have a little chat with Jack. And he wants to know if Jack knows John Locke. Richard went to meet John (just like John asked him too) - but he didn't find anything special about him. Jack tells Richard "don't give up on him."

Which now begs the question...which came first...the chicken or the egg? Look at the loop of the compass that Locke and Richard pass back and forth. Who had it first? Does Richard follow Jack's advice and that is how Locke gets to be leader?

After Sayid loads the bomb into the nuclear back pack, they all head through the tunnels to find the way out. Richard plows a hole in the wall of what is a Dharmaville basement. (Does this eventually become Ben's house...and the passage he uses to call Smokey?) And then he knocks Eloise on the head so that she doesn't place herself in danger.

As Jack and Sayid ease themselves through the house, they notice all the craziness going on outside. Including intercom messages of "if you come in contact with a hostiles, you are authorized to use deadly force..." So, they decide to escape by "hiding in plain sight." But...as they are walking away, Sayid is recognized by Ben's papa...(Hey...did Ben ever get returned to Dharmaville?) and promptly shoots him in the stomach. And the whole place errupts into gunfire. Did anyone else hear the Lone Ranger music as Hurley and company drive up in the blue VW to rescue them? I thought it might have just been me.

And that ends the first half hour. Oh my. That was A LOT of happenings. But...what I keep going back to is that opening sequence. I have watched that part over and over again. I have several theories that I am pondering. The main one being that Esau IS the smoke monster. But I think I'll leave that for another post. And for after the sussing of the entire episode. We have 10 gut wrenching months to ponder!

STILL Processing...

2009-05-20T08:58:00.000-04:00

We will post about the season finale... it's just that the finale was so HUGE, we weren't sure how to (or who would) take on the daunting task of recapping it.

So we're going to break it down into four posts... with Kat, Cara, Lula and myself each tackling one.

Up first will be Kat... she will be giving us her take on the first 30 minutes of "The Incident". Her post should (hopefully) be up no later than Friday!

Thanks for your patience, Sussers!

Processing...

2009-05-14T08:30:00.000-04:00

Did last night's final season finale leave you breathless? Emotionally drained? More confused than ever? Devastated that we have yet another looooong wait before the start of the beginning of the end for Lost?

Yeah, us too.

In the words of The Carpenters, that great superduo of the seventies, "It's gonna take some time, this time..." The recap will be posted soon, but bear with us as we sort and suss out all that took place in last night's 2-hour finale.

I leave you with this...
...the closing image in the last two seconds of the show. It wasn't possible deaths, the shedding of tears, or the headache caused by two hours of pure head-spinning drama that kept me tossing and turning last night. No, it wasn't one hundered and twenty minutes of Lost cliffhangers...it was this:

For five years we have seen our show open with its well-known, ominous theme, and the title written in white against a black background.

My friends, it seems that beginning is no more. The background is white...the title is in black. It's been reversed. Flipped. Changed.

Yes, Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse. I caught it. I get ya. Everything has been reversed. Flipped. Changed.

Here. We. Go.

"Follow the Leader"

2009-05-07T09:50:00.000-04:00

Where to begin?

Seriously. I don't know where to begin talking about last night's episode. Other than to say it was AWESOME! Uhhh... if you haven't figured it out by now, "awesome" is one of my favorite words.

Well, let's start with Locke. First, I have to point out something that was shown in the "Previously... on Lost" portion before the episode's start. One of the clips shown was of Ben (speaking to Sun) saying about Locke: "Dead is dead... you don't get to come back from that."

So what is up with Locke? Don't get me wrong... I do prefer the confident, purpose-driven Locke we see now over the depressed, lost (no pun intended) Locke we saw just a few episodes ago, in "The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham". But even Richard says "there's something different about you", when Locke shows up at the Others' camp.

I wonder if Locke has really been brought back to life. Am I the only one thinking this?

The scene with Locke, Ben and Richard arriving at the beech craft... to see LOCKE walk out of the jungle... I still don't get how Locke knew to go there. And knew to bring Richard with him, and what to tell Richard to say. I know Locke said the island told him to go there... but I still don't get it.

Moving on...

Back at the beach, Locke addresses "his people", saying for years they've taken orders from Jacob without knowing his identity or whereabouts... but it's high time they get some answers, and he invites the Others to come with him to see Jacob. Richard and Ben aren't too thrilled with this idea, however...

Richard: "I'm starting to think John Locke is going to be trouble."

Ben: "Why do you think I tried to kill him?"

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Oh, how I love Ben...

Speaking of Ben...

When the Others are marching to see Jacob, Locke reveals to Ben the biggest shock of the night...

Locke doesn't care about reuniting with his friends who are back in 1977... he tells Ben he's going to see Jacob... "so I can kill him."

Do we love the look on Ben's face after he hears this?

Yes. Yes, we do.

Now for what happened in 1977... things are beginning to unravel for our friends who are stuck in the past.

Jack and Kate witness Daniel being shot... then are captured by none other than Charles Widmore.

Meanwhile, back at the barracks, Sawyer and Juliet are handcuffed and interrogated by Radzinsky (who I now refer to as "Radzinsky the Tool"... seriously, what is this guy's problem? And him referring to Kate as Sawyer's "girlfriend" was so not cool. Not cool at all.)

Radzinsky the Tool's fist meets Sawyer's face each time Sawyer refuses to tell the truth about Kate and where they came from.

Do we hate seeing Sawyer's face bruised and bloody?

Yes. Yes, we do.

As if watching Sawyer getting beaten wasn't bad enough... Phil says he has a way to make "LaFleur" talk:

Oh, no he di'int!

Hurley, Miles and Jin are on the run, trying to make it to the beach... when they are discovered by Chang....

Remember back in "Namaste", when Hurley asks, "What if they ask me something I don't know? Like, 'who's the president?'"... and Sawyer tells Hurley to relax, "this ain't a game show"! Turns out, it was the president question that got 'em busted!

Awesome.

Know what else was awesome?

The return of Sayid!

Know what wasn't awesome?

Kate... interrupting a very sweet moment between Sawyer and Juliet! Why, Lost producers, why?! UGH! These two had just professed their love for each other... and Kate has to come in and ruin the moment. I, for one, hope that the season finale puts and end to the Jack/Kate/Sawyer/Juliet love rectangle. At this point, I don't really care if Jack and Kate end up together... but Sawyer belongs with Juliet.

OK, here are things I'm pondering after this episode...

If Locke's purpose is to kill Jacob, and not to bring his friends back from 1977... then why does he keep placating Sun, giving her hope of reuniting with Jin?

What was with all the threats of death in this episode? Radzinsky threatening Sawyer with death if he doesn't talk... Sawyer telling Phil he's a dead man for punching Juliet... Kate telling Jack if he's wrong about the bomb, the whole island dies... Locke on his way to kill Jacob..

And Richard telling Sun that he recognizes Hurley, Kate and Jack from the 1977 "new recruits" photo, because he "watched them all die"? Forgive me, but I'm starting to think this is going to happen to all of the present day folks who time-travelled back to 1977... minus those who have already died, of course (R.I.P., Charlotte and Daniel...)

Here's why:

In the last episode, Daniel said to Jack, "this is our present". I think Danny Boy had much more info to divulge... unfortunately, he was shot dead by his dear old mum before he could spill the deets.

So, Jack wants to detonate the h-bomb in hopes to undo all the misery of the past. But he won't be changing his past... he'll be changing his future.

The 2007 version of Jack has travelled back in time to 1977 BUT this doesn't mean the 1977 version of Jack doesn't exist. Case in point: Miles. Baby Miles and 30-year-old Miles are both presently living on the island. So while Jack 2007 is on the island... somewhere in the world there is also Jack 1977. It is this Jack, the one in 1977, who will board Oceanic 815 in 2004. So if Jack 2007 does succeed in detonating Jughead, this doesn't change his past... it changes the future of his 1977 self. So what happens to the 2007 version of Jack?

Have I lost everyone?

Let's discuss!

The Variable

2009-04-30T19:58:00.000-04:00

I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that we all had big expectations from the 100th episode. As usual, Lost did not let us down. There was action, a little comedy, lots o’ mystery, tragedy and some mighty powerful revelations.

In “The Variables,” we follow three story lines: Penny and Desmond, Daniel's life before the island and the island in 1977, all of which center around the story of Daniel Farraday. Daniel initially showed up on the island with questionable intent, but he has become a pivotal character in the Lost universe. I, for one, have long had a soft spot for Danny boy, from his tragic love for Charlotte to his all too familiar habit of writing in and referring to his journal.

One of last episode’s big cliffhangers was Scottish hottie Desmond’s fate after being shot by Benjamin “I’m going to kill your daughter but I'm a softie for kids” Linus. The show opens with Desmond being rushed into the hospital on a gurney while Penny and baby Charlie run alongside. The tears, they are aflowin’.

Later, as Penny sits in the waiting room, Eloise Hawking comes walking into the room. When this lady comes a calling, you know there’s going to be trouble. She tells Penny that it may be her son’s fault that Desmond was shot. Benjamin Linus is your son!? Penny exclaims. (I said the same thing in my head!) Oh heavens no, says Eloise, my son is Daniel Farraday. Cue the scary music.

Back on the island, circa 1977, we watch as Dharma folk emerge from the submarine. Who should poke out his head asking for a little help but our own Daniel Farraday. “Long time, no see” he says to a stunned Miles. Miles asks why he’s back and Daniel shows him the new recruit picture featuring the beloved Hurley, Kate and Jack. "Make haste! Take me to Jack!" Daniel exclaims.

Daniel bursts in on Jack, but first we are treated to a quick shot of Mr. Fox’s impeccable pecs. Mmmm. Why did you come back, Jack?! Yo mama. My mama what? Yo mama tole me to. Well, I’ve got news for you, you don’t belong here.

Now we flash forward, erm, backward to little Daniel playing a piano. Young(er) Eloise walks in and asks him if he knows what destiny means. No, I’m just a kid. Sheesh. Well, if one has a special gift, then it must be nurtured, she explains. She asks him how many beats on the metronome since he began playing. 864, he replies. (4 and 8? Hmm.) Math is your gift and it is my job to keep you on task, she tells him, and that means you’ll have to give up the piano. I can do both, I can make time, he says. If only you could.

Back on the island, Jack pays a visit to the Sawyer/Juliet abode while Miles and Farraday “run an errand” but Jack nearly gets the door shut in his face by Sawyer before Juliet steps in. I think we all know who wears the Dharma coveralls in that relationship. Sawyer explains that wormy security guy Phil has a tape of Sawyer and Kate taking Ben to the hostiles. Where’s Phil, Jack asks. Sawyer leads him to the closet where we find Phil, bound and gagged on the floor, looking a little less than pleased with his accommodations.

Meanwhile, Miles and Farraday sit in a Jeep outside the Orchid. When Dr. Chang drives up, Daniel follows him into the construction site. We hear Dr. Chang say “If you drill even one centimeter further, you risk releasing that energy. If that happened, then God help us all.”

Daniel puts on a hard hat and sneaks in to the tunnel where he sees a man being carried out on a stretcher. Would that be the fellow with the extremely unfortunate dental work? A worker says to Daniel “Did you hear that? Time travel. How stupid does that guy think we are?”

Daniel introduces himself and tries to convince Dr. Chang that he needs to evacuate the island because they are about to be rocked by an explosion with 30,000 times the power of what they’ve seen underground. When Dr. Chang is not convinced, Daniel resorts to telling him the truth: I’m from the future. Hey, it worked for Marty McFly. Sadly, Doc Chang is not as easily convinced as Doc Brown.

Daniel follows him out. To prove himself, he asks Chang to look at his equations, some of which won’t be discovered for 20 years. Miles sees what’s going down and comes over to say that Daniel had too many drugs on the sub. Daniel then drops the bomb: Miles is your son. I was secretly hoping that Miles would say it was true and we would have a tearful father-son moment, but Miles denies it. Dr. Chang hops into the robin egg VW van and puttputts off. Miles asks Daniel what he is doing and the response is typical Farraday/Hawking mysteriousness “You’ll see.”

We now visit Daniel at his graduation, where he throws about his long wavy locks and canoodles with the doomed Theresa. Eloise walks up and invites him (and only him) to lunch. Once seated at the Indian restaurant (Love me some Tandoori Chicken!), Daniel complains about the way she treated his girlfriend. She tells him he needs to be focusing on work, he doesn’t have time for relationships. The women in his life will only be terribly hurt. Is she trying to spare her son some of the pain of losing Theresa in the lab accident? As the discussion becomes more heated, he reveals that he has just received a 1.5 million pound grant from Charles Widmore. Before she leaves, she says she only came to congratulate him and gives him a gift. It’s the journal we see him looking in so often. The inscription says, “No matter what, remember that I will always love you.”

We return to Daniel’s living room. He’s clearly a shell of the man he used to be (or will become again on the island). He’s watching television news footage of the flight 815 airplane on the ocean floor. There’s a knock at the door and Charles Widmore enters the room. Daniel says he has a condition that affects his memory and he doesn’t recognize him. When Charles tells him his name, Daniel recognizes it from the research grant. As Charles sits down, he moves a Wired magazine with the subtitle “The Impossible Gets Real.” To which I say, INDEED.

Charles says he has come to offer him a new opportunity, but Daniel is distracted by the images of the plane crash. Then Charles comes clean: it’s a fake and I did it. He wants to send Daniel to the island, saying it will further his research and show him things he never dreamed of. More importantly, it will heal him. Charles says he wants to do this because Daniel is a man of tremendous gifts and it would be a shame to let them go to waste. Daniel remarks that he sounds like his mother. Charles says it is because they are old friends. Little did we know how good of friends they used to be, though.

Back in Sawyer’s cabin, Daniel is doing his best to convince Sawyer to show him where the hostiles are so he can find his mom. Jack is on board but Sawyer resists and Juliet seems to be on his side until he calls Kate Freckles. Nobody likes to hear their main squeeze call his old flame their pet name and Juliet is no exception. She turns to Kate and volunteers the code to the fence. With the code in hand, Jack, Kate and Daniel head off into the forest to find Eloise while the rest of the group plan to go back to the beach. As they are leaving, Sawyer grabs a tearful Juliet’s hand and says “Time to go.” So much in just three words. It is the end of their life together on the island and the beginning of an uncertain future that may or may not have the two of them together.

On their way, Daniel sees young Charlotte on a swing. As he approaches, she tells him she’s not allowed to have chocolate before dinner. Ah, the deliciousness of Lost, those were Charlotte’s dying words. He tells her that Dr. Chang will be coming and she and her mommy have to leave. He says “You cannot be here. You have to leave. I tried to avoid telling you this. I didn’t think I could change things, but maybe I can.”

Jack, Kate and Daniel encounter the very cranky and badly coiffed Stuart and some Dharma lackeys as they are getting guns from the Motor Pool. A firefight ensues, old west style, and Daniel is shot in the neck. Jack does the old "fuel canister explosion as diversion" so they can escape. As they drive off, Stuart yells out "Sound the alarm."

Back in his living room, Daniel stumbles in his attempt to play the piano. Eloise walks in and says she heard that he had been offered a job and that it is very important that he accept this opportunity. Now, we had some inclination that Daniel was a momma’s boy, but when he says he’ll do it only after she says it will make her proud, we know for sure.

Jack, Kate and Daniel drive up to the sound barrier and Kate disarms it as Jack treats Daniel’s neck wound. It's just a flesh wound. (Said with British accent.) Daniel says “I guess I’m lucky” Jack asks what luck had to do with it? He thought Daniel said whatever happened, happened? But Daniel squashes that, telling him that this is their present, any one of us can die. That right there is what we call foreshadowing.

As they collect water in a stream, we finally learn the reason Desmond had to punch in those numbers all those years. In four hours, the Dharma guys will drill into a massive pocket of energy and the result will be catastrophic. They will contain the energy in the Swan, otherwise known as “the hatch.” Decades later, when Desmond fails to press the button, it causes the plane to crash and thus the entire chain of events that led to them all being there now.

Here we finally get to the crux of the issue. All along Daniel thought that you can’t change the past. But he spent so much time focusing on the constants that he forgot the variable: PEOPLE. People can change their destiny. He thinks they can destroy the energy under the island by detonating a hydrogen bomb.

We return to the hospital, where Eloise is telling Penny that she’s not sure if Desmond will be okay, that it is the first time in a long time that she didn’t know what was going to happen. A nurse comes out and says that Desmond is in a recovery room and is asking for her. When she goes in, he says “I promised you, Penny, I’d never leave you again.” Now that is love, my friends.

As Eloise walks out of the hospital, Charles Widmore steps out of the shadows. Eloise tells him that Desmond is fine and he should go see his daugher. He says he can't go in because he sacrificed his relationship with her. Eloise cuts him off to say, “don’t talk about sacrifice, I had to send my son back to the island knowing full well that…” Whaaaat?? Charles says, “He’s my son, too.” She slaps him and gets into the cab. Well, hello. Now we know why Charles has been so interested in him all these years.

Daniel walks into the Other camp, guns ablazing, asking for Eloise. Richard plays it cool and says she isn’t there. Daniel asks about the bomb, but still Richard holds out. Daniel begins the time honored tradition of counting to three.

At the count of two, a shot rings out and blood shows up on Daniel’s chest.

Behind him we see Eloise with a rifle in her hands. As she rushes up, Daniel says, “You knew, you always knew, and yet you sent me here anyway.” She asks who he is. I’m your son, he says, and then he goes still.

Wow.

Best Lines of the Show

Miles: (When Jack looks to him to explain Farraday’s presence.) Don’t look at me, I just carried his luggage.

Sawyer: (To Daniel) Welcome to the meeting, twitchy.

Hurley: You guys were in 1954, like Fonzie times?

Jack: Insane? We disappeared off a plane in midair and ended up in 1977, I’m getting kind of used to insane.

Let's Get Sussing!

Had Eloise just returned from the island where she killed Daniel when she asks him about destiny?
Is the name of the salvage boat, the Christianne One, significant?
Why doesn't Daniel have either Eloise's or Charles' last name?
Has Eloise traveled through time? Is that how she knows everything?
Why is Daniel so troubled by the plane crash on the television?
Is Daniel really dead?

100th Episode!!!!

2009-04-29T09:55:00.000-04:00

Congratulations, cast, crew, and creators of Lost! Reaching the 100th episode is a tremendous feat, and I've certainly enjoyed the past 99 hours spent on this journey.

Read more about tonight's episode here.

"Some Like It Hoth"

2009-04-17T21:58:00.000-04:00

Are you kidding me? "Some Like It Hoth?" Best episode title of a television show, ever! I just had to go on record with this.

As I said a couple of weeks ago, Miles and Hurley are the Felix and Oscar of our generation. I'm staking claim on that one, as well as penning the screenplay to The Odd Couple--Part Deux. Lost is a show full of drama, mystery, and serious conspiracy theories, so it's nice to have an episode heavy with comedic moments. We all need to laugh and lighten up a bit. But it wasn't all funnies and happy dances, of course. Let's start with Miles' flashbacks, shall we?

Young Miles talks to dead people. He was adorable and frightened out of his gourd long before Haley Joel Osment and his sixth sense became part of our everyday vernacular.

Still adorable, but now with his gourd heavily pierced, Miles pays his ailing mother a visit, begging her to answer the difficult questions most young adults struggle with: "What is my purpose?" "Will I ever fall in love?" "What will I be when I grow up?" And, of course, "Why do dead people converse with me? Where's my dead dad's body?"(Heather likened Miles' studded, punk appearance to Rufio, King of All the Lost Boys, from the movie Hook. Heather is a genius.)

No longer goth, but clearly working toward being upwardly mobile (i.e. rich!), Miles puts his Ghost Whisperer abilities to use and scams a grieving Mr. Gray. "Yes, your son loved you--now pay up!" Apparently Miles in unable to communicate with the ashes of dead people, so he puts on a feeble game face and soothes Mr. Gray's worried soul. I'd like to say Miles did the right thing by telling Mr. Gray what he wanted to hear. But he demaded a larger payout for his lie. That's just all kinds of wrong, Miles. Greedy is thy middle name!

Showing little remorse, Miles leaves Mr. Gray and has a not-so-causal encounter with Naomi, whom we all know and love as the Parachute Pro. Miles is really digging Naomi's cheese, too. He agrees to a little testing of sorts, which he passes with flying colors. (Oh, Felix...poor, dead Felix...but hey, thanks for giving Miles the scoop on the staged wreckage of Oceanic 815! Was Widmore behind it, or was he merely interested in all those purchase orders?
When Naomi asks him to "Help us find a man," Miles is all, "Um, no." Naomi sings Miles a tune called "$1.6 Million, Baby" and he all but shouts back, "You are the pied piper and I will follow wherever you lead." Of course, Naomi is island bound, and now, so is Miles. With a fat wallet.

I enjoy a good fish taco as much as the next person, so I do not blame Miles' ire at being van-napped by Brawny Bram, who proceeds to toss out intel such as "Widmore is bad!" and "What lies in the shadow of the statue?" Miles' curiosity might not have been piqued, but mine certainly was! Bram explains to Miles that he is capable of revealing the answers Miles has been searching for--his ability to converse with dead people, the real deal behind what went down with his father, and maybe even who actually shot Kennedy. Miles isn't taking the bait, but tells Bram, "OK--I'll refuse the island vacation if you'll pay up--$3.2 million, baby."
Brawny Bram is not the pied piper...he has no tune for Miles to follow. Instead Miles is tossed aside, much like his fish taco. Before the van screeches away, Bram does a little cheer for Miles: Our team is gonna win! Bring it on, Bram! Bring it!

I was thisclose to preaching the "Love of money is the root of all evil" sermon to Miles, but he then paid another visit to Mr. Gray. And by "paid," I mean Miles returned Mr. Gray's money, but not before getting huffy and stomping all over Mr. Gray's heart: "You should have told him (Gray's son) you loved him while he was still living." Ouch!

And we now add Miles to the "Extreme Daddy Issues" club, whose membership is already comprised of Sawyer, Jack, Kate, Hurley, Ben, and Locke. I'm going to make them t-shirts.

Let's resume life on the island...

Wow, Tommy Lasorda is the new manager of the Dodgers! And Miles is so wrapped up in the news that he forgets to delete Sawyer & Kate's Rescue of Ben Shenanigans from the security video. Or maybe he was dumbfounded by Horace's hair?
There have been moments during the past four seasons of Lost when I've questioned the legitimacy of the Dharma Initiative, believing the whole enterprise to be a cult cloaked in the guise of science and research. Horace's little "Circle of Trust" speech confirms this for me. As soon as he finished barking out orders, reminding Miles of the Circle's "no questions asked" policy, I fully expected Horace to add, "Oh, and we'll practice trust falls and sing Kumbayah 'round the campfire later tonight." Miles, dude...if you're offered a refreshing glass of cherry Kool-Aid, run the other way!

The "no questions asked policy" includes delivery of a dead body to Dr. Chang. Oh, and Hurley comes along, toting coolers full of gourmet sandwiches. We know they're gourmet because Chef Hugo prepared them with a fancy-schmancy garlic mayonnaise. Too bad Alvarez missed out. I'm thinking he'd have preferred a ham and cheese sammy to a bullet in the head. Who wouldn't?

Ew.

Roger "Workman" Linus discovers his boy, Ben, has gone missing, and Juliet's attempts at easing Roger's worried mind fail. When one is bereft on this island, the usual location for the drowning of the sorrows is the Dharma Playground. Where all insightful conversations take place. While drinking a Dharma beer, naturally. (Let me pause for a second and out the obvious anachronism. I'm showing my age here, but when I was a kid in the late 70's, our canned drinks had pull-tab openings. Many summers were spent at the lake with my mother warning, "Watch for drink tabs or you'll cut your feet!" Lost prop team--we'll forgive you this oversight. OK, I'm through.) Kate's concern for Ben immediately rouses Roger's suspicions. Of course.

Next, in the grand tradition that is the budding comedy routine between Miles and Hurley, we have some of my favorite moments of the night, during their jaunt to deliver Dead Alvarez to Dr. Chang: a fart reference, Hurley gushing, "You talk to dead people? I can, too!" and Albert Hammonds singing "It Never Rains In Southern California" on the 8-track. Awesome! (And don't think I didn't love hearing Captain & Tenille in this episode--because I did.)

Dr. Chang is none too pleased at Hurley's presence in the Circle of Trust and seals Hurley's silence with talk of Hydra Island's polar bear feces.

We then come to Why I Want To Marry Hurley, Part 1:

Hurley: Dude, that guy's a total douche!

Miles: That douche is my dad.

Oh, snap! Y'all can judge all you want, but Hurley calling Pierre a "douche" is just good programming.

A drunk Roger finds Jack pulling his slack in the Dharma Schoolhouse. Roger inquires of Jack, "Do you know Kate?" And Jack's all, "In the Biblical sense?" OK, not really, but Jack proceeds to psychoanalize Roger, assuring him that Kate is a down girl. For a brief moment, I felt a tug of sadness for Jack. No longer the island bigshoot, he's been reduced to taking orders from Sawyer, pushing a bucket of dirty mop water, and defending Kate's honor to the man who fathered Benjamin Linus. Oh, and he has neither Juliet nor Kate in his kissing corner. Jack needs some lovin'. Just throwing that out there. I'm also hoping for redemption for Jack before this season is over. When he eventually grows a pair (and he will, I'm sure of it) I hope his big heroic moment is worth the wait. And I hope he's not wearing that drab Dharma jumpsuit when it happens.

Hurley lets Dr. Chang ride shotgun as Miles chauffeurs them to the construction of the The Swan, also known as Season 2's Hatch. During the trip Hurley presses Dr. Chang for information, and we then learn of the 3 month old version of Miles. ("Small world!" exclaims Hurley.) We also learn that Chang loves him some country tunes, which clearly horrifies Miles, who at that moment was probably longing for his punk/Goth days.

The Numbers have been making appearances in this episode (more on that later), but we see them together for the first time, as 4, 8, 15, 16, 23, and 42 are being stamped into the Hatch's lid. Oh, the numbers...will we ever learn their importance? On their jouney back to Dharma Village, Miles and Hurley have the conversation I refer to as Why I Want To Marry Hurley, Part 2:

Hurley is writing The Empire Strikes Back, making a few changes as a "favor" to George Lucas. Using his own story about his father's departure during his childhood, as well as Luke and Darth Vader's serious familial struggles, Hurley discusses the "Daddy Issue" situation between Miles and Dr. Chang. Hurley is brilliant. Especially for saying, "The Ewoks suck, dude." Yes, I am totally in love with Hurley.

Back in Dharmaville, Sawyer comes home from a hard day's work and wants nothing more than to unload on Juliet. In more ways than one, I'm certain. (Ahem.) But Jack is there, informing Juliet of Roger's suspicions of Kate. Way to kill the mood, Doc. Before Sawyer can get kick back and relax, Phil bounds up on LeFleur's porch, exclaiming, "I'm telling on you!" (Darn that Miles for not erasing the monitoring tape!) Clearly Phil has underestimated The Head of Security, and within seconds Phil is facedown on the floor. And do we love that Saywer and Juliet keep restraining rope in their Dharma domicile? We do.

Despite what his mother has previously told him, Miles gets a firsthand view of a father who not only adored him, but also lovingly read him kiddie polar bear tales. (While he's dressed in a Dharma onesie, coming soon to a Hot Topic near you, I'm certain.) We see Miles surly demeanor crumble when his father asks for help, stating, "Miles, I need you." Miles' choaked response, "You do?" was brilliantly played by Ken Leung. There's a lot more to the father/son dynamic between these two, but Miles now has a small bit of resolution to his daddy issues. Awwwww.

A team of scientists has arrived to the island from Ann Arbor and the very first thought I was was, "If we see the DeGroots I'll run circles around my house!" Alas, I stayed firmly ensconced in my warm bed. Until I saw him:
Now most of you were probably impressed at seeing our beloved Daniel Faraday once again, especially with his greeting to Miles: "Long time no see!" I, however, was ready to run circles around my house. Please love this moment with me, because it's a Very Big Deal...for the very first time ever, Daniel is not rocking the skinny tie. Amazing! Cue the end credits.

While watching this episode I was struck by the many references to the numbers--4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42:

*The time, 3:16, on the microwave in the apartment, in the opening scene. (16, of course, and 316 being the flight number on Ajira Airways, which brought the gang back to the island.)

*Horace tells Miles to retrieve a package from Grid 334.

*The mention of Miles' $1.6 million payout.

*The Sports Illustrated Cover of Tommy Lasorda--"After 23 years..."

*Security camera 4.

*The dead man, discovered by young Miles, in Apartment 4.

There are most likely more mentions of the numbers (please be sure to comment if you caught any!), and since this episode was so heavy with them, I have to believe they are coming into play once again.

Finally...my favorite moment in this episode actually did not occur during the show. Bear with me for a moment while my Science Fiction-loving self gets a little giddy on y'all. After Juliet lies to Roger about not knowing anything regarding Young Ben's disappearance, Roger storms out of the infirmary, shouting, "I'm getting security." Juliet turns to Kate and says, "Well...here we go." Immediately following her pronouncement, we cut to a commercial for the new Star Trek film, produced by Lost's own Damon Lindelof and directed by Lost's creator, J.J. Abrams. Well-played, y'all. You had me squeeing, most definitely. "Here we go," indeed.

Lingering episode questions for the sussing:

*How, why, and when did Daniel leave the island? And is it true that "whatever happened, happened" or is Daniel trying to change the timeline?

*What's this Bram the van-napper up to? Whom is he working for? What's all this team stuff he's going on about? Why didn't he offer to buy Miles a new fish taco?

*Was the "incident" the reason for Miles and his mother's departure from the island? Why did Lara and Pierre part on bad terms?

Let's discuss, please.

A sidenote from me--the last few days have been super crazy for me and my family. I cannot even being to tell you how busy we've been, hence the reason for the delay in getting this post up. Thanks for your patience. Forgive any mistakes I've made, too!

Michael Emerson on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon

2009-04-17T12:12:00.001-04:00

Michael Emerson was a guest on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon last night! In case you missed it, here is video of the interview:

Did anyone know he had a career as an illustrator before he became an actor? And those drawings were creepy! Awesome... but, creepy nonetheless.

Recap Coming Soon!

2009-04-16T08:18:00.000-04:00

Did y'all love last night's episode? Oh my stars, we loved it. LOVED IT! And we have lots to say about it...however, due to life being a little hectic today, the recap will be up later than usual. So please come back tomorrow to suss with us. And thanks for being patient!

In the meantime...
If you have a free moment, head on over to Long Live Locke and show "e" some support. Our favorite Lost blogger has had a tough week. The Lost community is generally a supportive one, full of fun, interesting, and intelligent people who love to discuss this most fabulous show. "e" puts an extraordinary amount of thought and time into her weekly episode recaps, and some lame-o wannabe has outright plagarized her posts, as well as stolen from other well-known Lost bloggers. Not. Cool. At. All.

Finally, our very own Sawyer became a daddy a week ago! Josh Holloway & his wife welcomed their daughter on April 9. People has the story here.

See y'all later!!!

(Edited to add: The post will be up later than I originally expected. Please forgive me and my life, which is definted by the term hectic. Also, please know that the recap will feature a plethora of goodies, including the term "douche," a reference of the movie Hook, and my impassioned plea to Hurley...it includes a marriage proposal. Just sayin'.)

"Dead Is Dead"

2009-04-09T16:30:00.000-04:00

After watching what can only be described as one of the most-awesomest episodes ever, the realization hit me... I will be in some serious mourning when "Lost" is over.

In my opinion, "Dead Is Dead" just proves this show is one of the finest hours of television. This Ben-centric episode was not only my favorite of Season 5... but may just be my favorite episode of the entire show (well, so far). We were treated to seeing the (all too brief) return of Desmond and Penny, more of Widmore's time on the Island... and some mighty fine acting from Michael Emerson and Terry O'Quinn.

Dear Emmy Voters: It is high time the brilliant Michael Emerson gets the recognition he deserves. Thank you.

Oh, another way I know it's a good episode is when I receive text messages from Lula such as:

"So good. Loving it."
"This RULES! So good!"
"Dude, this is awesome!"

OK, time to get on with this recap. I want to start with Widmore. Charles was not too happy with He of the Heavily-lined Eyes for bringing Lil' Ben into their temple... Widmore didn't care that it was "just a boy" who was dying. But when Alpert said, "Jacob wanted it done... the Island chooses who the Island chooses, you know that", Widmore seemed to accept Lil' Ben would be one of them.

The next time we see Widmore, it's when Ben returns to their camp with the baby Alex. Widmore again shows no love towards kids when he orders Ben to kill Alex. Yeesh, what does this guy have against children?

Widmore's banishment from the Island was an interesting scene. We learn Widmore has been exiled for "breaking the rules" (leaving the Island regularly and having a daughter with an outsider). We know the daughter to be Penny... so this would mean Ellie/Eloise is not Penny's mother. Unless... Ellie/Eloise was also banished from the Island at some point prior to this, and is therefore considered to be an "outsider".

The last we see of Widmore in this episode is when he's received a phone call from Ben, who is at the marina in Los Angeles. Ben tells Widmore he's going back to the Island, but first he's going to kill Widmore's daughter.

Which leads me to Desmond and Penny! I was euphoric to see my favorite couple... yet anxious at the same time, afraid of what was going to happen...

Seriously, this scene was hard for me to watch...

I had to keep my hand over my mouth, lest my screams of "No! No! Nnnooooooo!!!!" wake up my sleeping children.

Before Ben can off Penny, Little Charlie appears:

Now, I do think Ben wouldn't have gone through with his plans to kill Penny. But he does hesitate, and we get to see that it was Des who beat the living daylights out of Ben.

So we've seen Ben refuse to kill Danielle and Baby Alex... and then he can't (or won't) kill Penny because of Little Charlie... who knew Badass Ben was a big ol' softie when it comes to moms and kids?

I'm going to touch base on what went down with Sun and Lapidus before moving onto the meat of the episode (i.e, Ben, Locke and Smokey).

What I found interesting about this whole scene was that Ben did not know Jack, Kate, Hurley, et al. were in the Dharma Initiative...

...but later he does remember he was healed by the Temple as a kid. Hmmm...

Lapidus is all, "peace out, crazy sauce... I'm not sticking around here with a murderer and a dead guy" and leaves to go back to the Hydra. When he gets there, Lapidus is told by a Red Shirt that Ilana and three others have found guns and have taken over. When Lapidus confronts Ilana (who is wrestling with the same crate we saw earlier in the episode), she asks him "What lies in the shadow of the statue?"

Marshallette-turned-bounty-hunter-chick say what?!

"What lies in the shadow of the statue?" has to be some sort of riddle/password. Unfortunately for Lapidus, he doesn't know the answer, so this earns him a rifle-butt to the head.

Ilana tells the other guy with her to "get everyone else, tell them it's time"... get who else? And "it's time" for what? There's more to Ilana than we first thought. Who is she really working for? What is in the crate?

One more thing about Ilana and her cronies... I think it's safe to guess these are the ones who were in the outrigger, chasing Locke, Sawyer, Juliet and the other time-trippers back in episode 4 ("The Little Prince).

Alright, it's time for the main course (also known as why Michael Emerson deserves an Emmy).

When Ben wakes to find none other than "I-used-to-be-dead" Locke staring him down, he is obviously surprised.

Locke calls Ben out on this, and Ben covers for his look of utter disbelief by saying "it's one thing to believe it John... it's another thing to see it". Then Ben admits the reason he was trying to make it over to the main island was to be judged by... "the monster".

Ben is a master spinner of tales... do we believe Ben knew Locke would come back?

The scene with Ben and Caesar on the beach, discussing Locke... I thought this was Ben, doing what he does best. Lying, scheming... manipulating Caesar into doubting what Locke has told him about Ben...

Caesar tells Ben "I got your back" and shows he's packing heat (by means of a sawed-off shotgun).

Later, when Locke finds Ben in hopes to "talk about the elephant in the room"... the fact that it was Ben who killed Locke. Ben's explanation is that Locke had failed to convince the O6 to come back to the island, and that he had to stop Locke from killing himself because Locke had information that would have died with him. Once Ben had the critical info... "well, I just didn't have the time to talk you back into hanging yourself" ...oy, the eye roll Ben does before delivering this line is brilliant! Ben goes on to say he did what he did because it was "in the best interest of the island".

Locke's reply to this was one of the best lines of the episode: "I was just hoping for an apology."

I can honestly say that what happened next... I totally did not see coming! Locke and Ben are trying to take a canoe over to the main island when they are stopped by Caesar. Ben has already planted doubts about Locke in Caesar's mind... so Caesar goes to grab his gun, but...

BAM! Ben shoots Caesar then says to Locke: "Consider that your apology."

No one else has a problem with Ben and Locke taking the canoe... so they're on their merry way to the main island.

It's after they dock at the main island that Locke says he believes Ben is lying about being judged for coming back to the Island after he'd left (which was against the rules)... but rather Ben wants to be judged for killing his daughter.

Which brings us to Ben's judgement day. Ben does summon Smokey... but the monster doesn't show. So Locke decides they have to go to it, and he knows just where to go. Into the jungle they trek, finally ending up at the temple.

In the underground chamber Ben has fallen into, we see hieroglyphics all over the walls, including one very important mural:

Is this Anubis bowing down to Smokey?!

I had chills watching the rest of the episode unfold... Smokey rises out of a grate in front of Ben, swirling around him. Ben then sees memories of Alex... from taking her from Danielle, to Alex's death at the hands of Keamy.

Smokey then leaves, but reappears in the form of Alex. Ben apologizes to "Alex", finally admitting it was all his fault. "Alex" doesn't disagree with this... then brings out her/its own inner-Ninja on Ben by pinning him to a column. "Alex" tells Ben she/it knows Ben is planning on killing Locke again but he better think twice about doing so. In fact, "Alex" wants Ben to promise he will follow Locke's orders, otherwise she/Smokey will destroy him. Ben swears he will follow Locke and "Alex" disappears.

The result of Ben's judgement: "It let me live."

For now, Ben... you live, for now. BWAHAHAHAHAHA!

Sorry, I got carried away...

OK, everyone... what did you think of this episode? What questions did this episode leave you pondering?

"Whatever Happened, Happened."

2009-04-02T16:04:00.000-04:00

By the end of Episode 11, I realized I was mistaken in my recap from last week. When I'm wrong, I say I'm wrong. Lost proves again and again that we, the viewers, are incorrect in our assumptions more often than correct. It's why we love the show--the unknowns, the surprises, the unbelivables, the brilliant acting, and the myriad of manners in which we attempt to suss out what the heck is going on here?

Last week I mused, "We now realize part of the reason why Ben is the way he is," in reference to Roger, Ben's no-count daddy. I retract that statement, with apologies to Roger, especially for stating, "He sucks and got what was coming to him in the purge." Dang, that was harsh of me.

The crux of 'Whatever Happened, Happened" is that we now know why Ben is the way he is. The irony of it is so delicious I can barely type these words without dancing around my living room. Ben essentially becomes the man we all love to hate...because of Jack. Jin. Sayid. Kate. Juliet. And Sawyer.

I could stop right there and say, "End of story," but what fun would that be? Especially when we get to see this woman again:
Jumping right into Kate's flashback here (because the opening scenes were boring--Jin rescues Ben Junior, Horace bores his people with a bunch of lame safety talk, and Kate meets Roger...yada-yada-yada...), I confess zero surprise at seeing our gal Cass on the other side of that door. In a manner of seconds the viewer learns (a) Kate's theme music is always provided by Patsy Cline, (b) the people in young Aaron's life are seriously in love with Perry Como's "Catch a Falling Star," and (c) what Saywer whispered to Kate before his heroic helicopter leap.

Cassidy then proves she has a clue, and also earns my respect by naming Kate's game before Kate herself even realizes the facade is falling. Witness:

*Cassidy instantly knows Kate is lying--about the money, about Aaron, and about Sawyer.

*She shamelessly calls Kate out, all but saying, "Girl, the jig is up." The Eagles sang it best, "You can't hide your lying eyes, and your smile is a thin disguise..." Now this should be Kate's theme song. Why has no one else been bold enough to wag a finger at Kate's numerous falsehoods? (With the exception of the U.S. Marshall, may he rest in peace.) Rock on, Cassidy.

Back in present time...er, present as in 1977 of course, the Head of Security springs into action, dutifully checking the Dharma perimeter monitors, dismissing Kate, and dispatching Miles to place Jack, Kate and Hurley on house arrest. What a man, what a leader...yes, our Sawyer has become a productive member of society. Granted, it's Dharma's society, but still.

Juliet commences with her attempts at saving Ben's life, and we are treated to yet another gory surgery, Lost-style. (Remember the days of the Marshall and his protruding shrapnel? Boone's almost-amputation? Jack's appendectomy?)

Look at all that blood! Panicking, Juliet tells Saywer she needs a surgeon to assist her in the OR, which is code for, "Go get Jack!" Upon Saywer's summonsing of his services, Jack intones, "Dude, I'm a janitor now, so unless it's a stopped-up toilet, don't be asking me to get my hands dirty." Jack's actual response,"Then he dies," is so Ben-like in its delivery, I almost expected Dr. Shephard to bellow a hearty, "Bwahahahaha!" Or at least go all bug-eyed.

We viewers are then treated to what I hereby procclaim to be the best scenes of Season 5 thus far. Oscar and Felix's time-travel bantering was my favorite part of last night's episode of The Odd Couple.

OK, so it was really Hurley and Miles but seriously...they were The Odd Couple. And Hurley was the audience's proxy, voicing his (and ours!) confusion at all this time travel stuff. Is it similar to Back to the Future? (Did we love Hurley checking his hand to determine if he's in the beginning stages of a slow fade? We did.) Is Daniel Faraday with Doc Brown and the Delorean? And when will we hear the strains of "Johnny B. Goode," or "Earth Angel?"

When Hurley attempts to understand Miles' explanation of time travel, lamenting, "That was confusing," know that the writers of Lost just gave the audience one big wink. The conversation between these two could be a verbatim recap of what Lost fans have debated for the past couple of years. Thank you, writers and producers of Lost, for acknowledging a very confused fanbase. This was sheer brilliance:

Miles (after Hurley has asked why Adult Ben didn't recognize Flight 815er Sayid as the man who shot him as a child): "Huh...hadn't thought of that."

Hurley (arms smugly crossed): "Huh!"

Exactly.

Meanwhile Kate morphs into a pensive do-gooder, gently giving Jack a smackdown for his refusal to help save Young Ben. (Uh, Hippocratic Oath, anyone?) Jack, who minutes earlier was channeling evil Big Ben, now embraces his inner John Locke, telling Kate he's been getting in the island's way.

Kate: "I don't like the new you."

Jack: "You didn't like the old me, Kate."

You know The Good Shephard wanted to give Kate two snaps and a head shake, then twirl on his heals and sashay out of the room, leaving her looking like this:

Kate 8.0, the upgraded model, continues in her random acts of selflessness, donating her blood for Wee Ben's survival. This means Ben has Kate's blood in his veins. OK, that's just creepy, y'all. We also learn, via her conversation with Roger, that Ben's daddy is really just a meanie pants when he's drunk. Roger really does care for his son. Kate also denies having any children. Whoops, her true colors are showing again. (Y'all knew I was gonna go there.)

I also want to point out the oblique comment Roger makes regarding "LeFleur": "Bastard doesn't ask any questions he doesn't know the answers to." It's said in passing (regarding Sawyer's inquiry into the whereabouts of Roger's set of janitor keys), but I'm staking claims we were meant to notice Roger's little appraisal of Sawyer. For the record. Plus, I enjoy any appraisal of Sawyer. Sigh.

Juliet, looking like the Angel of Mercy, with the little halo-effect braids atop her head, tells Kate that Ben is going to die. Oh, but The Others can help him! The other Others, that is. (Yeah, Juliet used to be an Other. Then she rallied with the Oceanic 815ers. Now she's a Dharma Gal. So this makes Richard and his people the other Others. Got that? Good.)

Embroiling themselves in more island subterfuge, Kate and Juliet agree to get Ben to the Others. Kate, proving that she is not only a hero, but also well aware of Juliet's relationship with Sawyer, regards Juliet and the life she's built in Dharmaville over the past three years. Had she allowed Juliet to sneak off with her and Pale Ben, Kate knows "Sawyer would kill me!" Wow...has Kate found a clue about reality in just the two days since her return to the island?

Flash forward to the scene in the grocery store, of Kate losing Aaron. Kudos to Evangeline Lily! She did an amazing job conveying the feeling of despair a mother experiences when her child seems to disappear in a manner of seconds. (You mothers will agree with me--we've all been there.)

The sole purpose of this scene was to set up Kate's reasoning for returning to the island. I won't rehash the conversation between Kate and Claire's mother, Carole, because I'm certain we all ascertained weeks ago that Aaron was handed over to his grandmother before Kate boarded the flight to "Guam." Kate's farewell to little Aaron was heartbreaking, and I found myself actually feeling remorse for Miss Austen, for the very first time. This must have been the day Kate 8.0 was uploaded. Cough-cough.

Back on the island, at the Zap-To-It fence, Kate witnesses Sawyer on his trusty steed (or VW van, whatever), presumably galloping to halt her from absconding with the wounded Ben. When he refers to her as "Freckles," my heart dropped. I'm not trying to make Lost into a version of Days of Our Lives (as my brother-in-law refers to all the "relationship stuff" on the show), but I am wholeheartedly against any loving feelings between these two. They've lost that loving feeling. It's gone. Whoa-oh-oh-ohhhh.

Juliet has convinced Sawyer it is wrong to let a kid die, even if that kid would eventually grow into the Ben we all know and love/hate, and this is why Sawyer is there to help. Sawyer tells Kate, "I'm doing it for her." Her=Juliet. Me=Happy! The look on Kate's face when she realizes Sawyer really does love Juliet is utterly priceless. I almost felt badly for her. Almost. But not quite.

Back in Dharmaville, Juliet goes gangbusters on an April Fresh Jack. When he first stepped from that shower I had a Dallas flashback: "Dude, if this becomes a Bobby Ewing/it was all a dream scenario, I will shoot my television!"
Alas, it's not Bobby Ewing. Merely a gratuitous, almost-naked scene of Matthew Fox, for which I say "thank you" to Lost's powers-that-be. Yep.

For the second time today Jack is on the other end of a verbal smackdown, this one delivered by Juliet. Furious at Jack for being unwilling to help with Ben's surgery, Juliet tells Dr. Shephard that they (the left behinders) didn't need saving, and that he "better figure out why" he came back to the island. Are we all in agreement that Jack has relinquished every ounce of the leadership status he once maintained with this group of people? Here's to hoping that having Kate and Juliet up in his face will convince our doctor to grow a pair and get with the program. While keeping out of Sawyer's way. Ahem.

Back to The Saving Of Ben, 1977 Edition: After a bit of light conversation ("Dangit, I ain't fit to be your boyfriend or Clementine's daddy, but hey--in the past 3 years I've grown up, Kate!"), some gamey-looking Hostiles capture Kate, Sawyer, and a fading fast Ben. The Head of Security has no fear, however..."Take us to Richard!" he commands.

Richard saunters from the jungle, effectively answering the question we've pondered since season 2...how/why did Ben change sides, from being with the Dharma Initiative to being one with Jacob? The answer? Oh, Kate and Sawyer handed Ben over to Richard, that's how. Easy-peasy, all wrapped up nicely, no? Of course not.

Before Sawyer gives Ben to Richard, He Of The Heavily-lined Eyes states the conditions of Ben's tranfser:

1. "If I take him, he's not ever gonna be the same again." Check.

2. "He'll forget this ever happened." Good. Check.

3. "His innocence will be gone." Um...wait, what?

4. "He will always be one of us." Gotcha. Check.

I waited for either Sawyer or Kate to ask what Richard meant by Ben's "innocence" being gone. Did Richard have plans to leave Ben in a community shower and just wait for him to drop the soap? Ew. Clearly, Kate and Sawyer were not concerned...they were all, "Take the kid--peace out, homeslice!" And in that moment, I believe both Kate and Sawyer realize the enormity of the situation.

Let me break down the enormity for you:

*Sayid shoots Kiddie Ben.

*Jin brings wounded Kiddie Ben to Juliet.

*Juliet attempts to save Kiddie Ben.

*Jack refuses to assist Juliet in her efforts to save Kiddie Ben.

*Kate sides with Juliet, goes off on Jack, shares her own blood with Kiddie Ben, and becomes an ambulance driver (VW van, whatever). (She's quite the heroine.)

*Sawyer trudges through the jungle carrying Kiddie Ben, eventually handing the child over to He of the Heavily-lined Eyes.

*The equation is as follows:

Sayid+Jin+Juliet+Jack+Kate+Sawyer=Why Kiddie Ben Becomes Benjamin Linus, The Man, The Myth, and The Legend. Way to go, Oceanic 815 survivors (and Juliet)...good job!

Dismissing a random Other's warning about Ellie and Charles (!), Richard takes Ben to The Temple. I don't think they were going for a prayer service, either.

Thirty years later, Adult Ben wakes up in the Hydra Station, John Locke sitting by his bedside.

"Hello, Ben. Welcome to the land of the living."

Are you kidding me? Fantastic ending! Ben is in shock while Locke is as calm, confident, and smug as we've ever seen him. Man, I love me some John Locke. Man, I love this show.

Questions for sussing:

*What happens in The Temple to change Ben into the man we all love to hate?

*Do you believe Kate really returned to the island to look for Claire, as she told Carole? Or is this just my wishful thinking?

*What will Sayid be doing when we next see him?

*Where in the heck-ola are Bernard and Rose?

Oh my...so much to discuss. And...GO!

Time Loop Theory Link

2009-04-02T12:47:00.000-04:00

Something to chew on while we wait to discuss last nights crazy, confusing, awesome episode.....

Time Loop Theory

Countdown to 9 p.m., EST........

2009-04-01T08:57:00.000-04:00

"He's Our You."

2009-03-26T09:40:00.000-04:00

Because I like to remain completely spoiler-free I never know the title of each new episode of Lost until after it has aired. My favorite line from last night's installment was Sawyer's description of Oldham to Sayid: "He's our you." When I woke this morning and went to Lostpedia (the encyclopedia of all things Lost, of course), I literally gasped upon learning the title of episode 10 of Season 5: He's Our You. Brilliant!

"He's Our You" opens with an adorably young Sayid breaking the neck of a chicken, as his older brother is clearly fearful of any harm coming to that animal. (No harm, no fowl! OK, bad pun...couldn't resist!) Immediately I thought of Season 2, and a young Eko in Nigeria, killing a man so that his younger brother, Yemi, would be spared that experience. Coincidence? Of course not! This is Lost. One of the Nigerian guerrillas tells Eko that he is a "natural born killer," and the same could be said of Sayid's destiny...all those early days of snapping chicken necks will hone him into the ninja he's meant to become. (Y'all remember in Season 3's finale, "Through the Looking Glass," Sayid broke that Other's neck using just his legs? Yeah. One of my favorite moments ever. He's so badass.)

We then see young Ben delivering a sandwich and some reading material to the imprisioned Sayid. Let me just pause right here and tout the casting of the kid portraying lil' Ben...it is spot on, I tell ya. He is amazing! The book Wee Ben passes to Sayid is A Separate Reality by Carlos Castaneda. I won't even attempt to break that one down for you, but feel free to click on the book title for Wikipedia's synopsis. And, as always, remember that nothing is happenstance on this show. Ben gave Sayid that particular book for a reason. Duh. (And the book lover in me again rejoices at all the literary references which circle the world of Lost. Truly fantastic.)

Next we find ourselves in Russia, where Sayid is doing what he does best...chasing people while brandishing a gun. Honestly, have you ever seen a better dressed hitman? Sayid...dude...with that sleek black ensemble and your hair so carefully blown-out, you are rocking the GQ style. When offing a Russian, why look like a thug when one can look like this:Sayid effortlessly pulls off the look of a classy assassin with the ease of a runway model. I dig him. After killing the Russian Sayid meets up with Ben, who informs Sayid that his work is done. It seems Sayid has managed to exterminate all of Charles Widmore's organization and Ben is all "Mission accomplished...we so rock!" And by "we," Ben clearly means Sayid, 'cause Ben's hands haven't been pulling triggers...no, Ben's hands are more of the strangling kind. (Cough-cough--John Locke--ahem.) Sayid has been a badass his entire life...torturing, killing for a living, and being a super Ninja is all he knows, which is painfully evident when he begs of Ben, "What do I do now?" The chipper Ben replies, rather smugly, "Go live your life." (And then I started singing T.I. and Rihanna's "Live Your Life." I'm sure Ben did, too...off-screen.)

Back in 1977 Horace tries to get all McGruff Crime Dog on Sayid. It doesn't work, because seriously...McGruff would be a more convincing interrogator than Hippie Horace.

Next we see that Juliet not only brings home the bacon, but she also fries it up in a pan. Oh yes, she is a W-O-M-A-N. In this brief, tender scene between Jules and James, we learn the crux of the entire episode..."It's over--this--us--playing house," laments Juliet. Yes, dear viewers, the Dharma Way of Island Living is coming to an end. I love that Saywer tries to convince her (and us!) otherwise: "So they're back, nothing's changed." Puh-lease.

Sawyer takes off to deal with Sayid, and we then hear my second favorite line of the evening:

Sawyer: How you doing?

Sayid: A 12 year old Ben Linus brought me a chicken salad sandwich. How do you think I'm doing?

Awesome.

Meanwhile, Kate, Hurley and Jack are feasting on waffles. While they're chowing down, let me praise Hurley for a minute. Firstly, please tell me the little chef hat & cutlery symbols on his Dharma patch completely rocks your world. Because it's totally rocking mine in a big way. It's the coolest Dharma station yet!Secondly, Hurley had some of the best lines in this episode...

Jack: He (Sawyer) told me to leave him alone and let him do his job..."

Hurley: (incredulously) You going to?

Just like the audience, Hugo has Jack's number.

Hurley then spills the beans about Sawyer and Juliet...you know, how they are not just roommates? The expression on Kate's face, upon hearing this revelation, was utterly priceless. As was Hurley's next line, "Who couldn't see that coming?" I'm taking this one as a gentle nod from the writers and producers of Lost, for those of us (Me! Me! Me!) who predicted Sawyer & Juliet's coupling during last season's finale. I knew it the second shirtless Sawyer swam up on the beach to find Juliet buzzing on some Dharma Initiative Rum. Good times for those two. And good call for Hurley...I so love him stating the obvious. I so love him, period.

Moving on...

Let's discuss Ben's dad. He sucks and got what was coming to him in the purge. The end. That's way harsh, I know, but we now realize part of the reason why Ben is the way he is. What is it with this show and father figures? So many of our island peeps--Sawyer, Locke, Jack, Ben, Sayid--have daddy issues.

And then we return to the time when Sayid was working for the greater good. One minute he's a finely skilled hitman for hire, the next, he's getting all Habitat-y in the Dominican Republic. Here's our Sayid laboring on the behalf of those less fortunate, selflessly devoting his time and talent in a situation where the only potential for bloodshed is an accidental hammer to the thumb, or getting knocked on the noggin by a 2"x4". Of course Sayid's reprieve is curtailed by the appearance of Ben, doomsdayer that he is. Ben spends the next few minutes reminding Sayid of his murderous traits, gently prodding him with statements such as, "You're capable of things most men aren't...it's in your nature...you're a killer!" Way to be encouraging, Ben! Using a potential threat to Hurley as bait (and casually tossing out the intel on Locke's murder), Ben once again manages to place Sayid under his thumb. And on the trigger.

Then we come to Oldham, Mr. He's Our You. I want to go on record here and now with the following opinion: Best. Casting. Ever. It's LARRY, from Newhart, y'all! Oh my head, this made me so happy. William Sanderson as Oldham! I kept waiting for him to say, "Hi, I'm Larry...this is my brother, Darryl, and this is my other brother, Darryl." Pure awesomeness. (He's currently on True Blood, too...if you're wondering where you've seen him.) This Oldham chap intrigues me. He listens to Billie Holiday, lives in a teepee, and knows a square full of sugar helps the medicine go down. Methinks he's probably hit the hookah a whole lot, too. I'm just sayin'.

Seeing Sayid chained to the tree was reminiscent of "Confidence Man," from Season 1, in which Sayid "tortures" Sawyer for withholding Shannon's asthma medicine. Yes, the tables have turned. And I have to admit that seeing Sayid tripping on that truth serum was far out, to use a term from the era in which they currently reside. Sayid breaks it down for the gang, as truthful as he can be. The gang then all but exclaims, "What you talkin' 'bout, Willis?" Clearly, they don't believe Sayid...or his "you're all going to die" prediction. Silly gang.

We then learn that after storming off from the marina (leaving Jack, Kate, Sun, and Ben behind), Sayid gets his MacCutcheon on in a swanky bar. Desmond, we miss you. Please come back. And if you didn't see this coming:
...my friends, you need to bone up on your Lost sleuthing skills. Oh...and that's hot.

We have the brief scene between Juliet and Kate to discuss. Or not.

(Crickets chirping.)

The Dharma City Council holds a meeting to determine Sayid's fate. By the time the gavel pounds, it's unanimous: Sayid's cell has become death row! The more I learn about Amy, the more I fear her. Girl is shifty, to put it mildly. She's pretty hardcore standing there, cradling baby Ethan, waxing about the safety of all Dharma children...a regular Old Mother Hubbard. Wanting to stomp Sayid with her shoe.
After being a total follower with his affirmative vote, Saywer heads to Death Row and offers to free Sayid. But Sayid will have none of this, declaring to Sawyer, "I know exactly why I'm here." Alrighty then.

Sawyer then goes to see Kate...blah-blah-blah. Oh look! A flaming VW van! Did we love the speedy manner in which the Dharmaville Volunteer Fire Department sprang into action? We did. The show's writers made a serious effort for the audience to see just how tight-knit this community is...notice how Sawyer called a bunch of redshirts by name as the flames blazed? Like any of us cares if it's Erin or Steve or Sally Lou holding a hose. But Sawyer cares. Noted.

With the fire crisis keeping everyone else occupied, Ben Junior is on his mission to rescue Sayid. Sayid tells Ben he will take him (Ben) to "his people" (Richard and the hostiles). "That's why I'm here." Sayid explains to lil' Ben. And off they go tromping through the jungle, as these two are wont to do. Until Jin and his No Rosetta Stone Required English shows up and almost thwarts the plans.

What plans? Oh, that would be Sayid fulfilling his mission. You know, to prove what Ben has been telling him all along: "You were right about me. I am a killer!" BANG!

The anguish on his face just slayed me. Brilliant acting, Naveen Andrews. Kudos to you!

Now, if you think Ben is truly dead...well, I'll just remind you...George Strait has some oceanfront property in Arizona that he'd really like to sell. Let's not forget Jin is lying there, too...Sayid's dropping bodies like flies. His game is back on!
Oh Ben...we hardly knew ye...at this age, that is.

A couple of questions:

*During the Dharma City Council meeting, Radzinsky mentioned contacting "Ann Arbor." As in University of Michigan? As in the DeGroots, the founders of the Dharma Initiative? Are the DeGroots still in a positon of power in 1977?

*When Ben Junior visits Sayid's cell just before breaking him out, Ben says of his father, "I hated him." Hated. Past tense. What does this mean?????? Or am I making something out of nothing?

(Edited to add: I must have hearing problems, because everyone's telling me Ben Junior said, "I hate it here." BUT...just so you know...I've scoured the lost message boards and others heard the same as me. I'm not alone in my mistake, and I find comfort in that. Good times.)

And now, please let the sussing commence!

"Namaste"

2009-03-19T12:16:00.000-04:00

Thank goodness for a new episode! I do think "Namaste" was great, even though there wasn't anything truly mind-blowing about the episode. Here are the highlights:

- The title of the episode, "Namaste", is Sanskrit for "I bow to you". Sanskrit is one of the languages of Buddhism. Two main ideas of Buddhism are rebirth and karma. Hmm... very interesting.

On to what happened in 2007:

- During the flight of Ajira 316, the co-pilot recognizes Hurley as one of the O6. As the plane encounters turbulence, they also experience a time flash (it's nighttime when the turbulence starts, but broad daylight when it stops). Lapidus is able to land the plane on the runway... we assume this is the same runway Kate and Sawyer were helping to build while they were being held captive by the Others.

- Lapidus awakens to find his co-pilot dead (does anyone remember what happened to the co-pilot of Oceanic 815?)... he leaves the cockpit to find Sun, then realizes Jack, Kate, Hurley and Sayid are gone (we know from the last episode that Jack, Kate and Hurley are back in 1977... why isn't Sun with them?!)

- On the beach, Lapidus gathers the survivors of Ajira 316 together, asking everyone to chill and wait for help to "come looking for us". Caesar, however, wants to go off exploring the nearby buildings. While this is taking place, Ben sneaks off into the jungle... which is noticed by Sun, so she starts following Ben. Lapidus notices Sun taking off, so he starts following her.

- Sun catches up to Ben and asks where he is going, to which he replies he's going "back to our island... wanna come?" He tells Sun there are 3 outrigger canoes nearby that they can use to get to the main island. (How does Ben know about the outriggers? were they put there by the Others?) When Lapidus catches up to Sun and Ben, he warns Sun that Ben is dangerous and she shouldn't trust him. But Sun says she has to trust Ben...

- As Ben and Sun are getting the outrigger ready to go, Lapidus pleas with Sun again not to go with Ben. She asks Lapidus to come with them, but he says he can't, as he has to look after the other passengers. As Ben is telling Lapidus that he has people to take care of too, Sun whacks him in the head with an oar, knocking Ben out! (You go, girl!)

- Lapidus and Sun make it to the main island at nightfall. Before they make it to the barracks, they see something disturbing or knocking down trees (Smokey?!), but continue on anyway. They find the barracks deserted... whispers are heard and then a light comes on in one of the buildings. A man appears in the doorway, who calls out "Hello" and identifies himself as Christian (how is it that Lapidus and Sun can see Christian?!)

- Christian takes Lapidus and Sun into the processing center and shows them a picture of the "new recruits" from 1977... included in the picture are Kate, Jack and Hurley. Christian then tells Sun, "I'm sorry, but you have a bit of a journey ahead of you." (could this "journey" be some sort of way to get those who are in 1977 back to the correct time?)

Now what happened in 1977:

- We get a replay of the reunion between Sawyer, Jack, Kate and Hurley. Jack tells Sawyer that Locke is dead... Sawyer then tells Jack that it's 1977 and they're a part of the Dharma Initiative.

- When Jin hears Sun was on the plane but Jack doesn't know where she is, Jin takes off, saying he's going to the Flame... if there's a plane on the island, Radzinsky would know about it. When Jin gets there, he finds Radzinsky building a model of the Swan station...

- Radzinsky verifies no plane has landed on the island... but then an alarm is sounded indicating a Hostile is inside their perimeter. Jin runs off into the jungle and finds Sayid in handcuffs! Jin asks about Sun, but Sayid doesn't know where she is. Before they can talk any further, Radzinsky, who has also run off into the jungle, finds Sayid, forcing Jin to act as though Sayid is a Hostile and takes him prisoner.

- Back in the north valley, Kate asks Sawyer, "Other than you and Jin, who else is still here?" We don't see Sawyer's answer... and later on he mentions Faraday, to which Jack is surprised... so this makes me think Sawyer didn't answer Kate's question at all...

- Sawyer tells Jack, Kate and Hurley to stay put while he comes up with a plan to explain their appearance on the island. He goes back to his house to gather clothes, and Juliet finds him there. Sawyer tells Juliet, "They're back... Jack, Hurley, Kate..." Although she is stunned by the news (and a little sad, I think), Juliet tells Sawyer there's a sub coming in that afternoon.

- Sawyer gets back to Jack, Kate and Hurley, telling them of "2nd batch of recruits" coming to the island... the plan is for the three of them to act as though they were on the sub. The plan will work since everyone on the sub is knocked out, "no one meets until we process them".

- Juliet tries to get the information on the recruits from a sleeping Amy without disturbing her, but Amy wakes up. Juliet covers, saying she doesn't want Amy working today. Amy reveals she and Horace have decided to name their baby... ETHAN!

- On the way to the barracks, Hurley asks Sawyer why he doesn't warn Dharma of "the purge". Sawyer's reply is that he's "not here to play Nostradamus to these people". And that "Faraday's got some interesting theories on what we can and can't do here." As stated before, Jack surprisingly asks "Did you say Faraday? He's here?" (Sawyer's reply of "Not anymore" makes me think he means Faraday is no longer there mentally, rather than physically!)

- Sawyer takes Jack, Kate and Hurley to the processing center, telling them to watch the "meet and greet video" and listen for their names to be called to get their work assignments. Miles drives up and tells Sawyer "there's a 14J at the Flame". Sawyer gets on the walkie with Jin, who tells him the "Hostile" really is Sayid.

- In the Processing Center, Jack's name gets called by none other than Pierre Chang himself. Chang tells Jack, "based on your aptitude test, you'll be doing janitorial work." Score one for Sawyer!

- Phil notices Kate's name hasn't been called... he says she's not on his list and grows suspicious. Juliet walks in to Kate's rescue, telling Phil she has a new list from Amy, and that Kate is on it. (Oh, the looks these two give each other... )

- Back at the Flame, Sawyer arrives intending to question the "Hostile"... Radzinsky thinks the "Hostile" is a spy, since he saw the model of the Swan station and the survey of where it will be built. Radzinsky's solution is to shoot the spy, but Sawyer is adamant about talking to him first. Sayid plays along, admitting himself to be a "Hostile". Sawyer says he's taking the "Hostile" back to the barracks.

- The "new recruits" pose for a photograph (the same one Christian shows to Sun in 2007)

- After the photo is taken, Sawyer drives up with Sayid, and takes him to the security station. He locks Sayid in a cell, saying he can stay there until they can figure out what to do with him. When Phil asks "what are we going to do with him?", Sawyer just replies, "bring the man some damn food, we're not savages". Later, we see a boy come into the station saying he has brought a sandwich (as soon as I saw the boy, I knew who it was going to be...) Sayid tells his name, and asks the boy his... "I'm Ben."

- That night, Jack goes looking for Sawyer's house. Juliet answers the door and they first embrace before Jack says he must have the wrong house, as he was looking for Sawyer. Juliet tells him he does not, and invites Jack in. After a brief awkward moment, Juliet leaves Sawyer and Jack to talk...

- Saywer's smackdown to Jack was awesome! When Jack asks "Where do we go from here?", Sawyer calmly replies, "I'm working on it"... Jack comes back with, "Really? 'Cause, to me, it looks like you were reading a book." Sawyer goes on to say he once heard Winston Churchill read a book every night, saying it made him think better. He tells Jack, "That's how I like to run things... I think. Back when you were calling the shots, you pretty much just reacted... you didn't think, Jack, and as I recall, a lot of people ended up dead." Jack defends himself saying he "got us off the island"... but Sawyer says "but here you are, right back where you started." Sawyer tells Jack he's going back to his book and think... 'cause that's how he saved Jack's "ass today... and that's how I'm gonna save Sayid's tomorrow." (BAM!)

My favorite line of the episode:

Hurley, to Jin: "Dude, your English is awesome!"

All in all, not a bad episode... what did you think?

Freckles, Skeletor, and the rest of the gang...

2009-03-13T22:29:00.000-04:00

I don't know about you, but I'm in serious Lost-withdrawal... stemming from the fact there was no new episode this week (why, ABC? Why?!)

So, to tide us over until the 18th, how 'bout some fun?

We all know Sawyer likes to dish out nicknames.

Ever wonder what your nickname from Sawyer would be? Mine is:

Go here to find yours!

Births on the Island

2009-03-08T14:57:00.000-04:00

A monumental moment on last Wednesday's episode, La Fleur, hasn't been touched on much:

A successful birth on the island.

So, whatever happened on the island to make it impossible for women to give birth,
hasn't happened yet.

What's going to happen to cause birthing issues?
Perhaps the mysterious incident that takes Dr. Pierre Chang's arm?

Any thoughts?

"LaFleur"

2009-03-05T07:56:00.000-05:00

Given my enjoyment of the characters of Sawyer and Juliet, you know I was completely digging the latest installment of our show. In fact, most of the texts I sent during the hour it aired were of the, "I LOVE IT!" variety. And I did love it. Well, most of it.

Typically my "adult word" moments occur in the last few minutes of the show. But this is Lost of which we're speaking, so "typical" doesn't apply. Moments after Locke descends the well to turn the Frozen Donkey Wheel, time flashes (ok, so up to this point the time flashes are pretty typical...I'll give you that!) and our gang is once again spinning through time. Their stopping point? Oh, just yards from the statue. THE STATUE! Yep, I said a typical adult word, folks. Less than five minutes into the hour. I love this show.
Another flash and one ginormous, fall-on-the-ground, "earthquakeish" moment later, and the gang realizes it's the final flash, as evidenced by their lack of headaches and nosebleeds. Yay, John turned the wheel!

Flash-forward three years later (thanks, writers of Lost, for keeping our frame of time in check throughout the episode), and there's a "hootenanny" going down with some Dharma peeps. Those of you who know me are aware that I have a deep love of music. I cannot express to y'all the utter joy that swelled from the depths of my soul when I heard the jaunty strains of Tony Orlando and Dawn's "Candida." I mean, seriously...nothing shouts "BIG 70's!" quite like the wholesome goodness that is Tony Orlando. No wonder Mr. Security and Miss Geronimo Jackson (did you catch her shirt?!?) had to get their groove on. It was warranted.I love white people dancing...these two are not ready for Don Cornelius and Soul Train.

Mr. Party Pooper interrupts their moment and the trio discovers drunk Horace on one of the security camera screens. (Anyone catch Mr. Security's mention of "polar bears in cages?") The two men--Jerry and Phil--race to find LaFleur, also known as Sawyer, James Ford, and now James "Jim" LaFleur. Yes, our Sawyer is head of security for the Dharma Initiative, and it only took three years for him to reach that status!

Please pause for a moment while I enjoy Saywer's latest and greatest nickname pronouncement for Miles: Enos! Oh, how I love me some Dukes of Hazzard references. Oh, how I love me some southern men who casually and correctly use Dukes of Hazzard references. This was my favorite comedic moment of the night, no question.Roscoe P. Coltrane and Enos fulfill their duties as Horace's designated driver (friends don't let friends drive drunk, of course!) and return to Dharma Village only to find an exasperated, very pregnant Amy. Oh, she's not pregnant for long. But before we get into that drama let's back up a bit, shall we?

Three years earlier our Daniel is loopy, grieving the loss of recently-passed Charlotte. Dan tells Sawyer, Juliet, Jin, and Enos (OK, it's Miles--but I like Enos better!), "Wherever, whenever we are now, we're here for good." Sawyer and Miles banter a while about their plan, or lack thereof, and Juliet steps up to Team James. She "has his back." I do not blame her one bit, 'cause with that back comes his front. Yep.

*Crickets chirping. Elevator musak. Dew on the grass.*

I got sidetracked. Forgive me.

We then hear shouting and gunfire, and our crew witnesses yet another jungle showdown. Before Saywer can get his Captain Rescue on, Juliet channels Annie Oakley and proves, once again, that she is the island's resident female badass. Juliet shoots first and accurately, while Sawyer follows suit. And then I started singing "All the women who are independent, throw your hands up at me..." Rock on, Destiny's Child. Amy is the damsel in distress, of course. After a brief burial, Jin's gracious offer to haul Paul, and Sawyer's "we shipwrecked here on route to Tahiti" lie, we learn Amy is not quite the damsel she appears.
Girlfriend needs a new 'do and some hot oil treatments. They had VO5 back in the day, or at least the Dharma equivalent.

We learn next that Amy is in labor and her child is in the breech position. Sawyer makes haste in requesting the services of the one auto mechanic on the island who is also capable of performing surgery. Have I mentioned how much I love Juliet? "Girl, I didn't know you could get down like that..." Y'all know you're still singing "Independent Women." Admit it.While in the waiting room (or the infirmary's back porch, if we're being specific), Jin reports to Sawyer/LaFleur that Grids 1-3 have been searched, with no sign of "our people." Saywer instructs that the search will continue, "as long as it takes." Oh, and Amy's' baby is fine, thanks to Juliet's mad skills. It's a boy! Let the cigar-passing commence!

Once again we find ourselves three years earlier, where Sawyer is spinning the Tahiti yarn for Horace. Do we love Sawyer's Black Rock reference? Of course we do. Horace tells Sawyer, "You may be looking for the rest of your crew, but your boo-tays are on the next sub out, my friend." Uh-oh.

Interrupting not a moment too early is our guy, Richard "He's Always Been Here" Alpert. Firmly planting his torch in the ground and purposely striding into Dharma Village like he owns the joint, Richard tells Horace, "You've got some 'splainin' to do!" Before offering to conduct a peace summit with him, Sawyer refers to Richard as "Eyeliner," thereby causing me to leap from my bed while clapping with glee. "Eyeliner." That. Is. Spot-On Perfection.

Meanwhile our island peeps are having a summit of their own, hanging out on Dharma patio furniture, as was often enjoyed in the days of yore. You know, in 1974, also known as the year in which I (Lula!) was born. Daniel waxes poetic, telling the gang, "The record is spinning again--we're just not on the song we wanna be on." If that is not one of the most profound statements I have ever heard, I don't know what else qualifies. Oh, and let's not forget adorable little redheaded Charlotte, running around outside in the dark of night. Why isn't she in bed? And does this mean our Charlotte was approximately 36 or 37 at her time of death, given her age in this scene and the "1974" reference? Um, no. Sorry. That timeline is not matching up, I tell you.

We now come to my favorite scene of the entire episode. "Sawyer and Juliet sittin' by the sub, in less than three years they'll be in luv!" Like my little jingle? (Melissa says: "Oh you know I love me some jingles)

Juliet longs for home, however Sawyer convinces her to stay for two weeks. He needs her to "have his back" (and front...cough-cough...), as Mad Scientist and I Speak To Dead People are not Sawyer's idea of island badasses. This serves as the setup for our final "three years later" timeline. And let me tell you, it made me happy. (Even though my brother-in-law declared this scene as the beginning of the show turning into "Days of Our Frickin' Lives." OK, Robbie...I hear you.)

Fast forward a few years, cue the mellow gold music (I hope there was an 8-track of Bread playing...or Roberta Flack, maybe?), dim the lights, and prepare yourselves for love, Dharma-style. Let's enjoy some Initiative Merlot, shall we?
Two weeks has turned into thirty-six months, give or take, and what I predicted after Season 4's finale has happened. Sawyer+Juliet=The Most Well-Adjusted Couple On The Island. She has his back...he believes in her...she prepares his pasta...he gifts her with a freshly picked blossom. This is love, folks...true love! I enjoy kitchen make-out sessions!
We later find our man reading. Of course. He may be a badass, but he's an educated badass, and I love him for this. Horace is feeling the need for a little heart-to-heart, whereby Sawyer assures him: yes, three years is absolutely long enough to get over someone. Oh gee, the foreshadowing.
During this conversation with Horace, I found Sawyer to be the most sincere he has ever been since landing on the island. I truly believe that, at this very moment, he is long over any feelings once held for Kate and is completely devoted to Juliet. I mean, come on...they're SPOONING, for goodness sake!
Y'all know you loved the spooning. I did. For real.

While asleep in the afterglow, Jin rings the happy couple to inform Sawyer of Some Very Big News. Yes, the Oceanic Six (sans Aaron, but with many others) are back on the island. Which means Kate is on the island. Which means I want to puke at how fast Sawyer darted out of his Juliet-shared bed. Which caused me to lament the day of my birth. Sigh...

I. Hate. Kate. I'm sorry, y'all, but I do. She is has such a talent for bringing ruin and devastation to those who cross her path. I'm hoping she will redeem herself (in my eyes, at least) in the future, but for now I will continue to hate on her. 'Cause I can. If Sawyer dumps Juliet for Kate, I will first claw his eyes out, followed by the removal of my own.

Oh, the melodrama!

We have a two week wait until the next episode of our show. Two weeks? Painful! Until then, let me mention further tidbits about "LaFleur."

*Josh Holloway and Elizabeth Mitchell are brilliant actors. Heck, the entire cast of Lost is so unbelievably talented. Their commitment to excellence is what allows Lost to be, in my opinion, the finest hour of television currently on the air. Let's not forget to give the creators/producers/directors/and writers a shoutout! They rock, too.

*Why has Sawyer not been Big Man On Campus all along? Dude has a better head on his shoulders than Jack or Locke ever thought of having. OK, so he's committed murder and stuff...but that's in the past. Current-day Sawyer/James/LaFleur is quite the leader. I'd even go as far to say that he is the leader the island has long needed. 'Cause it's certainly not Horace!

*So Horace and Amy had a baby boy. Significance? Will this child grow to be someone we know and love? Shannon is guessing Ethan, which I think is a brilliant deduction. Hopefully time will tell.

*Why does Richard want Paul's body? It didn't take much convincing for Amy to hand her deceased husband over to an Other. Oh, and the Ankh she took from his neck? Wikipedia tells me it's the symbol for the "key of life." Mull that one over for a while.

*Is Charles Widmore still on the island? Last week he told Locke that his people were on the island for three decades, before being "exiled" by Ben. We don't know how long they had been there when we saw him as a young gun-toter (along with Ellie) in the 50's, but if that was near the beginning of their time on the island, 1974 would not be too far into the future to suggest that Widmore and crew had departed the joint. So...is Widmore currently on the island? With Richard? And Ellie?

As usual, my head hurts. But I love it. I do...'cause I love this show. Or hadn't you heard?

The Many Talents of Michael Emerson

2009-03-04T16:25:00.000-05:00

Okay, I am troubled that I cannot find any video of Michael Emerson playing William Hinks on ABC's "The Practice" except this little 4 second clip. I just wanted to share the genius that is Michael Emerson with ya'll. He is, by far, on of the best actors I have come across. It doesn't matter a lick to me whether he is good or bad. He is just. plain. amazing. And he's actually kind of cute in a freaky, serial killer sort of way. Stay with me here.

I mean, look at this face:

I am going to have to spend some more time doing research on the William Hinks character from "The Practice". It's seriously worth watching. The time he spent on that show earned him the privelege of playing our beloved Benjamin. This is all I can find for now. However, his William Hinks character is mentioned in this View interview.

Okay, is he not the coolest bad/good guy?

"The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham"

2009-02-26T11:48:00.000-05:00

While last night's episode wasn't as meaty as the previous one, I think "The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham" was still pretty good. It was Locke-centric, which is always a good thing. So here is the recap (with a few of my thoughts interjected)...

The episode opens with New-Dude (Caesar) poking around what looks to be the Hydra station, finding maps, an old issue of Life magazine and a gun. {Lula interjecting here--my stuff will be in dark purple--hope this doesn't confuse. I wanna know why Caesar is getting gun happy. Like the rest of the island. And hiding the gun from Ilana.}

Marshallette (Ilana) comes in to say they found a man wearing a suit...Caesar asks if this man "disappeared like the others" but Ilana says he wasn't on the plane. They go back to the beach and it's revealed the man in the suit is none other than...

LOCKE!

{I'd like to out, for the sake of comedy, that wasn't it nice of the downed plane to provide our island some more "redshirts?" Totally disposable cast members. Love it.}

In the morning, Locke and Ilana banter back and forth... Locke asks, "Are those your boats?", referring to the canoes on the shore. Ilana replies that the boats were already here... and that there used to be three of them but the "pilot and some woman took one."

Who is the "some woman" that ran off with Lapidus? More on this later...

Ilana then tells Locke that nobody remembers him being on the plane... Locke tells her he doesn't remember being on it either, but he does remember dying!

We're then taken back to Locke and Christian being under the well... and Locke turning the Frozen Donkey Wheel.

Locke wakes up in...

TUNISIA!

{The barfing scenes are gross. Just sayin'.}

The same place Ben appeared when he turned the FDW at the end of last season. Anywho, it is nightfall before Locke is found and driven to some sort of clinic/hospital where a doctor there resets his leg (painfully, I might add!)... before Locke passes out, he sees Abaddon watching him.

Locke is then woken by someone who is at his bedside... who turns out to be...

WIDMORE!

Locke asks Widmore, "Do I know you?" Widmore tells Locke they met when he was 17 and reveals who he is to Locke. Locke says it's been 4 days since he walked into Widmore's camp and spoke to Richard... Widmore tells Locke that it has been 3 years since the O6 left the island.

Widmore then goes on to tell Locke that he was afraid Ben would "fool you into leaving the island", and that he was the leader of his people who protected the island for over three decades before being exiled by Ben. Locke says he chose to leave, and Widmore correctly deduces that Locke is there to bring the others back to the island. Widmore says he will help Locke do just that, because "there's a war coming" and if Locke isn't back on the island when that happens, then the "wrong side" is going to win...

Which side is the "wrong side"?!
{And here's where I started to trust Widmore, for the very first time. He seems so sincere, so genuine. But am I wrong to believe Widmore? Also, why did Ben exile Widmore and Co.? How did that go down? And doggone it, John Locke--why didn't you ask these pertinent questions when you had Widmore in front of you?}
Widmore also tells Locke "the island needs you - it has for a long time". When Locke tells him that Alpert said he was going to die, Widmore tells Locke he won't let that happen. He then introduces Matthew Abaddon to Locke, saying he is there to take Locke anywhere he needs to go and to protect him from anyone who would do him harm.

Locke is back in a wheelchair!

Locke and Abaddon travel all over, visiting Sayid, Walt!, Hurley, Kate, Jack... and also the grave of Helen Norwood.

{When Locke visits our Habitat-wannabe Hero Sayid, (Come on, you know you love that--a former torturer for the Republican Guard, now building houses for charity? Awesome!), my favorite Iraqi sates, "For two years I was manipulated by Ben. Who is manipulating you, John?" Briliant question, for sure. Because someone is clearly manipulating our dear Locke. Who's pulling the strings? Widmore? Ben? Both?}

When Locke is leaving Walt!, we see someone watching and it's...

BEN!

I think it's interesting the things that were said to Locke by those he visited:

Sayid: "Why do you really need to go back? Is it just because you have nowhere else to go?"

Walt: "I've been having dreams about you. You were on the island, wearing a suit, and there were people all around you. They wanted to hurt you, John."

Hurley: "You didn't make it? You're not the first person to visit me, you know?"..."Whoa, dude! What are you doing here?"... "Dude... be cool... don't look, but we're being watched... DUDE!" {I find it interesting--and very telling--that Hurley warns Locke not to trust Abbadon. Hurley, crazy as he may be, is usually spot-on with his personality assessments.}

Kate: "Have you ever been in love, John? I think about how desperate you were to stay on that island... it was all because you didn't love anybody."

{And here's Lula's "Play On, Playa, Take Two" moment of that Beyotch's...um, I mean Kate. Please let me slap her. Virtually, at least. When John is telling Kate that he was angry and obsessed (over Helen), Kate replies, "Look how far you've come." Beyotch. Seriously? I hate her even more, and would love to knock those freckles off her face. End of rant.}

After Locke leaves Kate, he's taken to the grave of Helen Norwood and is told by Abaddon that she died of a brain aneurysm. Locke starts to say he and Helen could've been together, but Abaddon tells him Helen is where she is supposed to be, and that Locke's path leads back to the island. And then this happened...

DUDE!

{DUDE!}

This caused me to simultaneously gasp and say a bad word. {Yeah...me, too.} Someone shot and killed Abaddon! Locke manages to drive away, but ends up in a car accident and is taken to the very hospital Jack works at. When Locke tells Jack that it was fate that brought him to that very hospital, but Jack shoots it down, saying it was just probability.

Jack: Have you ever stopped to think that these delusions that you're special aren't real? That maybe there's nothing important about you at all... maybe you are just a lonely old man that crashed on an island? That's it."

{I believe this is the most important scene in the episode. Jack puts it out there for our man of Faith. Ben, Widmore, Jacob--all have been telling Locke how important he is, how he is integral to the future of the island and its history. But Dr. Shephard gives Locke the verbal smackdown, while forcing Locke's fears to surface. Could Jack's little summation mirror what Locke feels about himself? John Locke has said many times, "Don't tell me what I can't do!" Jack didn't tell Locke what he couldn't do. But his "lonely old man" speech just might reveal what Locke believes about himself, deep down.}

Locke then tells Jack that his "father says hello"... a very shaken Jack tells Locke, "we were never important, so you leave me alone and you leave the rest of them alone!"
Back in his hotel room, we see Locke writing his suicide note to Jack. As he attempts to hang himself, Ben bursts through the door and talks him down.

Now who could that be?!?

Ben admits to killing Abaddon, saying it was only a matter of time before Abaddon would've tried to kill Locke. Ben also says Widmore is dangerous, that he was the reason Ben moved the island. Locke tearfully says he is a failure, that he wasn't able to get any of them to come back with him. Ben tells Locke that he can't die, that he has too much work to do and he will help him... he successfully talks Locke down off the table.

Locke tells Ben that he can't go to Sun since he promised Jin he would not bring her back. And that Jin wanted him to tell Sun that he was dead, giving his wedding ring as proof.

What is up with the look on Ben's face when he hears Jin is alive?! And when Locke says he needs to find Eloise Hawking?!? {Yeah, what she said!}

And then what happened next... another explicative came out of my mouth!

BEN KILLED LOCKE!

Ben then stages Locke's suicide and takes Jin's ring... before walking out the door, he says to Locke, "I'll miss you John. I really will."

We're now back on the island... Locke finds Caesar back in the Hydra and tells him that he had spent 100 days on the island... but not sure how he got back.

Best lines of the episode:

Caesar: "How long ago did you leave?"
Locke: "The timing would just... confuse you."

{I'm adding mine:
Hurley, to Locke: "You didn't make it?"

Classic.}

Caesar explains that he saw a "big guy with curly hair" disappear... and that the pilot took the passenger list when he ran off... everyone is accounted for except "the people who got hurt." He takes Locke to where the injured are and finds...

BEN!

Of whom Locke says, "He's the man who killed me."

Cue the trombones!

Sheesh, for not being a "meaty" episode, there was a lot to recap!

I wanted to touch more on the "other woman" who ran off with the pilot... it has to be Sun, as evident by the promo for next week's epi (which looks totally awesome!). The promo shows Sun and Ben in the jungle... besides, what other woman would run off with the pilot? And she's the only other returning O6er who is unaccountable for. So why didn't Sun time-leap with Jack, Kate and Hurley???

I think Lula may edit this post to add her thoughts... so stay tuned to see what she has to say...

No editing from me--just interjecting my 2 cents. Seriously, Shannon and I were texting throughout the episode last night, then IMing...finally, I had to call her this morning and wail, "I cannot write the recap, because all I can wrap my head around is next week's episode! And I have three pages of notes!" Yes, I'm lame and I admit it. Anyway, hope this joint-effort didn't confuse y'all. I say "joint effort"--but let's call it what it really is: Shannon does the work, I intrude. Shannon, great recap...thanks for writing...and thanks for letting me get my blurbs in.

And just because I think y'all need to see it again:

I'm so excited!

All These Things That I've Done

2009-02-24T11:11:00.000-05:00

Thought you all might enjoy this: